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Contents 1 Chronology 2 The Dark Side of the Straight Story 3 Ronald Reagan 4 Mulholland Dr.: Boxoffice status 5 On the Air 6 Eraserhead influences 7 Maddin 7.1 Current residence 7.2 Lynch himself would never have mislead students. Wow! What an insinuation! 7.3 Jedi 8 Marriage No. 3 8.1 Federico Fellini influence 9 Mel Brooks quote 9.1 Transcendental Meditation? 9.2 The early days of David Lynch 9.3 Eraserhead a reaction to fatherhood?

[edit] Chronology

Lynch directed six episodes of the series, including the pilot, wrote or co-wrote several more and even acted in some episodes. Lynch on the cover of the October 1, 1990 issue of Time Magazine.

/snip/

However, Lynch clashed with the ABC Network on several matters, particularly whether or not to reveal Laura Palmer’s killer. The network insisted that the revelation be made during the second season but Lynch wanted the mystery to last as long as the series. Lynch soon became disenchanted with the series (many cast members would complain of feeling abandoned) and, after shooting the Twin Peaks pilot episode, set off to work on the film Wild at Heart.

This is confusing. I can assume that Lynch directed six episodes of the series, including the pilot, but what doesn't add up is that he'd abandon the project for a film after the first episode (pilot) and return to shoot six episodes. Is this what happened or is the last sentence in error?

[edit] The Dark Side of the Straight Story

"The Straight Story" has got to be one of the most misunderstood films ever, as Lynch, no doubt, intended.

Behind the veneer of "Lynch goes straight and makes a rated-G, Disney, life-affirming family film," is a story of darkness and repression, one of drunkenness and violence. That story is so subtly told, that it was initially lost on almost all the critics and viewers.

This review explains it all:

http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/revicontent_97_p.htm

As the author states, "The Straight Story is genuinely poignant and moving, in a way that, say, Lost Highway certainly isn't. But to call the film "sentimental," or discontinuous with Lynch's previous work, is simply to misunderstand it."

I propose the following rewrite to the paragraph about "The Straight Story:"

"In 1999, Lynch surprised fans and critics with the G-rated, Disney-produced The Straight Story, which was on the surface, a simple and humble movie telling the true story of an Iowa man (Richard Farnsworth) who rides a lawnmower to Wisconsin to make peace with his ailing brother. The film gathered positive reviews, but most reviewers missed the uglier story lurking underneath, which Lynch subtly wove into the film."

I would also add the above-cited review as a reference.

Before I change anything, I would like comments. Also, should I tell more about the underlying story? I don't want to spoil the movie. Thanks.

17:05, 5 October 2005 (UTC) ToddCrowder

Gazpacho said of my "Straight Story" comments: "this analysis is highly speculative and not verified by Lynch."

Most of the other analyses of Lynch films are not verified by Lynch either. He usually blows off such questions. And highly speculative? You have seen the movie and read the review in its entirety, correct? Do you believe that Mssrs. Kreider and Content are seeing something that isn't there? I have found no reviews whatsoever that disagree with them, only ones that completely missed what they saw. And once the sub-story is pointed out, I don't see how anyone can deny that it is there and don't know of anyone who ever has. But I may be wrong. So will someone who has seen the movie please read the review and tell me it's bunk?

And remember, this is Lynch, the "trickster author," we're talking about ("Do You Enjoy Making the Rest of Us Feel Stupid?: alt.tv.twinpeaks, the Trickster Author, and Viewer Mastery," Henry Jenkins, from "Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks," Ed. David Lavery, 1995, Wayne State University Press). Did you really expect Lynch to ever tell a straight story?

Perhaps we could mention the sub-story preceded by "Some critics say..."? or something like that? How'd that be? Thanks to all.

20:25, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

wait a sec... you're quoting that review as fact, and you haven't even seen the movie? jeez. take a minute to analyze your own words above. "I have found no reviews whatsoever that disagree with them, only ones that completely missed what they saw." listen to yourself. you don't know that they saw anything, and you're alleging as fact that others "completely missed what they saw." nonsense. the statement alone presumes the truth of something you've admitted is an unknown to you.

just got around to reading the review you linked to. if you accept that review as stated, you're a fool. did you notice that it's based on an assumption? everything flows from a single assumption -- an exercise in bad-lawyer mimicry, like being in court for a sophistic summation. was the film's alvin straight responsible for the death of his daughter's kids? you can't answer that factually. you can only assume. stating theories as facts is the first mark of an idiot. i'm going to watch the DVD now to see if even the quote about the fire is correct. i suspect it will not be, no matter how small the difference. regardless, the quote as written in the review says nothing except "i have a theory", followed by piles of baloney. if i wanted to be an attention-grabbing fool, i could write a 10-page treatise on the sinister overtones of coffee in lynch's work. it would be linked to by people like you, i suppose. Wbfl 22:53, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

the real quote: "One night, somebody else was watchin' the kids, and there was a fire. Her second boy got burned real bad."

as "quoted" in the review: "Someone else was supposed to be watchin' them, and there was a fire, and her second boy got burned real bad."

that quote distortion is significant. anybody putting quote marks around something has a responsibility to accuracy, unless it's stated that the quote is from memory or the like. in this case, the insertion of "supposed to be" implies that the person didn't watch the kids — an embellishment. not going to waste my time looking for more; my suspicion was confirmed, and the things i already know assign the review to the trash pile.

if you watch the film, you'll notice from the tone of alvin's voice and the look on his face that it's damned unlikely the theory of your pet review is true. the review moves quickly from installing sinister tone where there was none, to making an utterly harmless (albeit stupid) metaphor of a bundle of sticks into fascism. gets worse from there. and this is the review you want to quote as fact in the article? if you want to look into sinister undercurrents, look no further than the review, an obvious grope for attention from a liar. it is possible that the film version of alvin straight was responsible for his grandson's injury. damned unlikely though. note that the core thesis of the review is "'the straight story' is presumed by most people to be an exception to the lynch canon; however, this is impossible, because the lynch canon has consistency." don't believe me? read the piece of crap... after seeing the film. quite a leap, and it's one i'm not taking, except to consider that there is more to the film than is obvious. it can be inserted properly into the article. hasn't been yet. and yes, there are similar problems already in the article. maybe you can remove them before inserting your grope. Wbfl 23:18, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

==

[edit] Ronald Reagan

I think the bit of trivia in regards to Mr. Lynch's fondness for Ronald Reagan should be omitted until it can be verified. It seems preposterous to make claims of this sort with out any real substantiation.

There are many interviews, and articles available on the internet which will back this up. I will see about digging them up here in a little bit. Rsm99833 16:28, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Here's a few articles relating to this subject. If someone has access to Lexus-Nexus, there is an interview with Lynch who talks about his views a few years back in the LA Times (keywords "David Lynch", "Ronald Reagan" "American Spirit"). Anyway:

http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/getting-lost-is-beautiful/4458/

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/plath/372/index2005.html

http://www.hollywoodinvestigator.com/lynch.htm

[edit] Mulholland Dr.: Boxoffice status

It's incorrect to call it a dismal boxoffice failure: it made a profit worldwide (cost 15M and made 20M so that's 5M profit - that's not a failure by any stretch of the imagination). [EDIT: Incorrect as pointed out later] It only made 7M in the US though but that's kind of expected given that Europe (esp. France) is one of Lynch's major fanbases and funded the film. See http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mulhollanddrive.htm for the data on the film's takings. I've ammended the entry to relect this...

--MarkB 14:42, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

long as we're estimating, then it was closer to a $5M loss at the box office using your numbers. box office figures are not what a movie "makes"; they are simply the box office gross. generally, the studio nets half or a little over half of that during a film's entire run. your base figures, if correct, cannot add up to a $5M profit via the box office. assuming marketing is included in that $15M figure, the box office might have needed to go over ~$30M for profit there (worse if marketing was additional). as with many films these days, it was probably DVD that took the film black. Wbfl 08:08, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

True - I've mixed up gross with theatrical rentals. Still, the point remains can we seriously consider Mulholland Dr. to be a dismal boxoffice failure? Take for example Maid in Manhattan and you'll end up with a larger loss by your calculations. However, it's deemed to be a relative success by most parties (Of course, artistically, it's nothing of the sort) .--MarkB 20:01, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

no, i don't think it's accurate to claim that MD was a dismal box office failure; "dismal" should be reserved for the lowest of the low percentages. however, at the box office alone it wasn't a success, if your numbers are correct and if the industry average holds. with the strong DVD market though, box office numbers are rapidly losing their traditional significance. Wbfl 02:12, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] On the Air

I don't see any discussion about the tv show "On the Air" aside from credits and such at the bottom. Forget "Fire Walk with Me," which I think he was working on at the same time. "On the Air" has got to be the most negatively received Lynch work of his career and among the worst television programs ever produced. It was essentially Lynch and Frost saying, "this is what we can get away with." Don't get me wrong; I'm a huge Lynch fan and can put together a more neutral addition about it (I've never added anything to Wikipedia before). Or someone else can. Regardless, it should be mentioned. --Happylobster 21:41, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

..."among the worst television programs ever produced." yeah? i think it's one of the best. i've been looking for it on DVD for years. if you're going to add on the air to the article, it'd better be a helluva lot "more neutral" than that. its dismal reception among the masses is a fact. your opinion of it is only factually your opinion, and that, of course, nobody cares about for the article (unless you're tom shales or some official [insult deleted] that wikipedia policy savors). my opinion is that if you think you're a "huge Lynch fan" and think OTA sucks, you're probably not a huge lynch fan. one thing's sure: you're a [insult deleted] who presumes his opinion should be at the top of a talk page. bad form. Wbfl 22:15, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Nothing was mentioned about OTA in the article. You are obviolusly passionate about the work. If you consider it among his best, you should write something about it. Meanwhile, as I mentioned before, this was my first contribution to Wikipedia and was unaware that comments start from the bottom. Your response was unnecessarily harsh. As your opinion is likewise your opinion, I don't take it any more seriously than you regard my views about OTA or ability to write neutrally. I sincerely hope you greet other newbies with more respect than this. Dismal reception and bad form indeed.

--Happylobster 21:40, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Happylobster, just be glad you don't know wbfl in real life. You obviously didn't deserve that sort of treatment. 04:41, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

maybe there's a place where all the people who use the form "[what you said] indeed" can be dumped. i'll look into it while you figure out this opinion thing that seems to be puzzling you. Wbfl 08:54, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Eraserhead influences

According to Lynch, he never saw a Bunuel film until after Eraserhead (http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/David_Lynch.html). I'm not sure about Maya Deren, but i've never heard Lynch cite her as an influence.

---

Jules Dassin's "Thieves Highway" was a huge influence on Lynch and you'll find references to it in every film he's made -- The grinding gears in Eraserhead, the downtown soundscapes of that film, Dune & The Elephant Man, orchard visuals in The Straight Story, and most directly Isabella Rosselini reprising Valentina Cortese in Blue Velvet.

I'd go so far as to say Blue Velvet is a scene-for-scene crib of Thieves Highway in theme and all its major details, with Dennis Hopper as Lee J. Cobb. Conte's legless father is mirrored in Jeffrey's stroke-ridden father. Both come back from independent lives of young adulthood to help their struggling families in a stultifying world of greed. Both have the corn-fed woman they love and the Italian demoiselle they sleep with. Both find their lives endangered by a corrupt crime boss. janus_weathervane@yahoo.com

[edit] Maddin

"He is often called "America's Guy Maddin" because of his surreal, visual style."

I've often heard Maddin called the Canadian David Lynch but I've never heard Lynch called America's Guy Maddin. A reference or two please.Rorschach567 15:48, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Current residence

Does anyone know where Lynch currently lives? Word is he has a summer home in Madison, Wisconsin. If no one objects I plan to add this to the Private life section.--Hraefen 04:13, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lynch himself would never have mislead students. Wow! What an insinuation!

I removed the following.

His presentation on September 28, 2005, at New York University [1] was called "misleading" in an editorial in the school newspaper because TM had not been mentioned in advertisements. [2].

If you read the source, there is no indication at all that Lynch himself has been misleading. This critic should go into an article about the University or the journal that announced the event. This has no place in an article about Lynch. -Lumière 03:51, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

The entire TM movement is a joke. The guy has gone soft in the head.

[edit] Jedi

I think it is worth a mention that Lynch turned down the offer to direct Return of the Jedi in favour of doing Dune.

then place it there.

[edit] Marriage No. 3

Someone edited the page to incorporate data on Lynch's recent brief marriage to his longtime girlfriend and collaborator Mary Sweeney, listing the dates of the marriage as May-July 2006. Their divorce filing, after less than 30 days as a married couple, is reported in the issue of Entertainment Weekly that came out on June 16. Why is their divorce listed here as ocurring in the future? Does California (I assume that's where they were married) have a law stating that divorce filings aren't binding until 30 days after papers have been turned in? Or is July a sort of "dateTK" placeholder to be replaced by whatever future date the marriage is officially dissolved by law?Andrewjnyc 02:16, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Federico Fellini influence

I'm SURE I've read this somewhere, but can't find the page again! Bugger.

[edit] Mel Brooks quote

The sentence "Due to his peculiar style and focus on the American psyche, producer Mel Brooks once called Lynch "Jimmy Stewart from Mars."" is perhaps not very relevant in the very beginning of an article. It has more the flavor of "trivia" information. Moreover, the reference to James Stewart is usually thought to be due to Lynch's physical resemblance with Stewart. This point is missing from the way the quote is presented now. Although being a Lynch fan and somewhat knowledgable about his film, I will not edit in the article before discussing. Any thoughts on this quote? --HJ 20:05, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Lynch on Lynch claims that this quote is wrongly attributed to Mel Brooks; another reason to remove it from the beginning. 70.112.100.11 06:46, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transcendental Meditation?

Please, does any one have more detailled or more recent information about Lynch's relation toward tr. meditation? it is hard to believe for me. Any links, quotes or newspaper articles etc.? Thanks

[edit] The early days of David Lynch

Someone just tagged it with a citation needed. What kind of citation is needed? If no good reason, I'll remove it tomottow afternoon. I personally see no justification for it. Rsm99833 08:43, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Eraserhead a reaction to fatherhood?

"The film also reflects the director's own fears and anxieties about fatherhood, personified in the form of the bizarre baby, which has become one of the most notorious props in film history."

I have read in one of the many biographies on Lynch that when the above statement was made to him (more or less) he replied "Everybody has a baby. So why doesn't everybody make Eraserhead?" Either way, surely this comment is opinion? Desdinova 01:15, 11 October 2006 (UTC)