The dream part is where Diane's guilt of having put the hit out on Camilla is working through all the issues of denial, blaming, transference, etc. Bob Brooker is part of her reasoning as to why she didn't get the part in the "Sylvia North Story" — it was HIS fault because he was clueless, not HER fault because she was a lousy actress. Typical of sociopaths and "professional victim" types who are in major denial about why they are losers — it's always everyone else's fault, never theirs. However, there is another layer here — I think Lynch is poking fun at some of The Industry (or "artsy") types that are out there in La La Land. — Zors
If we also believe that Diane was not particularly fond of Bob, and if he himself preferred Camilla (as she later tells us) then it would seem understandable that Diane might subconsciously amuse herself at his expense, through the quite broad comedy of this audition scene. — Rochas
The director Bob Brooker IS David Lynch, willing to be the fool and tell her (and us), "It's not a contest, the two of them with themselves. So don't play it for real until it gets real" and "just don't rush the line again...", and later, to Diane, "very good, forced maybe, but humanistic". Everybody, Lynch included, says about DL: "He is not the best person at expressing himself in words, he thinks in whole ideas." And here we have Brooker who would just as soon not talk being pressured to and coming up with this stuff that makes everyone roll their eyes, but is really what it is all about. — Laurence L.
Trivia
- Credits have him as 'Bob Booker' (not 'Brooker' as we hear).
- Wayne Grace portrayed the equally distracted and obtuse bartender in Robert Altman's 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' (1971).
- Director Bob Brooker is seated in a chair labelled "Cast" (see photo above).