David Lynch
Birthday:
20 January 1946, Missoula, Montana, USA
Birth Name:
David Keith Lynch
Height:
178 cm
Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood being shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future director Jennifer Lynch shortly after he turned 21. That ...
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Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood being shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future director Jennifer Lynch shortly after he turned 21. That experience, plus attending art school in a particularly violent and run-down area of Philadelphia, inspired Eraserhead (1977), a film that he began in the early 1970s (after a couple of shorts) and which he would work on obsessively for five years. The final film was initially judged to be almost unreleasable weird, but thanks to the efforts of distributor Ben Barenholtz, it secured a cult following and enabled Lynch to make his first mainstream film (in an unlikely alliance with Mel Brooks), though The Elephant Man (1980) was shot through with his unique sensibility. Its enormous critical and commercial success led to Dune (1984), a hugely expensive commercial disaster, but Lynch redeemed himself with the now classic Blue Velvet (1986), his most personal and original work since his debut. He subsequently won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival with the dark, violent road movie Wild at Heart (1990), and achieved a huge cult following with his surreal TV series Twin Peaks (1990), which he adapted for the big screen, though his comedy series On the Air (1992) was less successful. He also draws comic strips and has devised multimedia stage events with regular composer Angelo Badalamenti. He had a much-publicized affair with Isabella Rossellini in the late 1980s. Show less «
It's better not to know so much about what things mean or how they might be interpreted or you'll be too afraid to let things keep happening...Show more »
It's better not to know so much about what things mean or how they might be interpreted or you'll be too afraid to let things keep happening. Psychology destroys the mystery, this kind of magic quality. It can be reduced to certain neuroses or certain things, and since it is now named and defined, it's lost its mystery and the potential for a vast, infinite experience. Show less «
I sort of go by a duck when I work on a film because if you study a duck, you'll see certain things. You'll see a bill, and the bill is a ce...Show more »
I sort of go by a duck when I work on a film because if you study a duck, you'll see certain things. You'll see a bill, and the bill is a certain texture and a certain length. Then you'll see a head, and the features on the head are a certain texture and it's a certain shape and it goes into the neck. The texture of the bill for instance is very smooth and it has quite precise detail in it and it reminds you somewhat of the legs. The legs are a little bit bigger and a little more rubbery but it's enough so that your eye goes back and forth. Now, the body being so big, it can be softer and the texture is not so detailed, it's just kind of a cloud. And the key to the whole duck is the eye and where the eye is placed. And it has to be placed in the head and it's the most detailed, and it's like a little jewel. And if it was fixed, sitting on the bill, it would be two things that were too busy, battling, they would not do so well. And if it was sitting in the middle of the body, it would get lost. But it's so perfectly placed to show off a jewel right in the middle of the head like that, next to this S-curve with the bill sitting out in front, but with enough distance so that the eye is very very very well secluded and set out. So when you're working on a film, a lot of times you can get the bill and the legs and the body and everything, but this eye of the duck is a certain scene, this jewel, that if it's there, it's absolutely beautiful. It's just fantastic." "Film exists because we can go and have experiences that would be pretty dangerous or strange for us in real life. We can go into a room and walk into a dream. If we didn't want to upset anyone, we would make films about sewing, but even that could be dangerous. But I think finally, in a film, it is how the balance is and the feelings are. But I think there has to be those contrasts and strong things withing a film for the total experience. Show less «
I'm not a real film buff. Unfortunately, I don't have time. I just don't go. And I become very nervous when I go to a film because I worry s...Show more »
I'm not a real film buff. Unfortunately, I don't have time. I just don't go. And I become very nervous when I go to a film because I worry so much about the director and it is hard for me to digest my popcorn. Show less «
It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It's better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it...Show more »
It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It's better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it's a very personal thing, and the meaning for me is different than the meaning for somebody else. Show less «
To give a sense of place, to me, is a thrilling thing. And a sense of place is made up of details. And so the details are incredibly importa...Show more »
To give a sense of place, to me, is a thrilling thing. And a sense of place is made up of details. And so the details are incredibly important. If they're wrong, then it throws you out of the mood. And so the sound and music and color and shape and texture, if all those things are correct and a woman looks a certain way with a certain kind of light and says the right word, you're gone, you're in heaven. But it's all the little details. Show less «
In Hollywood, more often than not, they're making more kind of traditional films, stories that are understood by people. And the entire stor...Show more »
In Hollywood, more often than not, they're making more kind of traditional films, stories that are understood by people. And the entire story is understood. And they become worried if even for one small moment something happens that is not understood by everyone. But what's so fantastic is to get down into areas where things are abstract and where things are felt, or understood in an intuitive way that, you can't, you know, put a microphone to somebody at the theatre and say 'Did you understand that?' but they come out with a strange, fantastic feeling and they can carry that, and it opens some little door or something that's magical and that's the power that film has. Show less «
I think that ideas exist outside of ourselves. I think somewhere, we're all connected off in some very abstract land. But somewhere between ...Show more »
I think that ideas exist outside of ourselves. I think somewhere, we're all connected off in some very abstract land. But somewhere between there and here ideas exist. And I think the mind isn't conscious enough to go all the way to where we're connected, but it's conscious of a certain amount of that territory. And when these ideas fly into the conscious part, then you can capture them. But if they're outside of the conscious part, you don't even know about them. So you just hope that you can make the conscious part of your mind bigger or that these ideas will fly into your airspace, so you can shoot them down and grab them and take them home. So that's all you try to do. Sometimes an idea will strike you when you're sitting in a quiet chair. But sometimes an idea will strike you when you're standing. Sometimes music will also help you. If I thought I could just sit still in a quiet place and get ideas, I would do that all the time, but sometimes nothing happens. There's no rhyme or reason to it. But you've got to write them down right away. I forget so many things. Then if I forget it and try to remember it, my whole day is ruined because I can't remember and I feel horrible. And I imagine that it was one of the all time great ideas. And it probably isn't. Show less «
I've said many, many, many unkind things about Philadelphia, and I meant every one.
I've said many, many, many unkind things about Philadelphia, and I meant every one.
[His films] mean different things to different people. Some mean more or less the same things to a large number of people. It's okay. Just a...Show more »
[His films] mean different things to different people. Some mean more or less the same things to a large number of people. It's okay. Just as long as there's not one message, spoon-fed. That's what films by committee end up being, and it's a real bummer to me . . . Life is very, very complicated, and so films should be allowed to be, too. Show less «
I don't think that people accept the fact that life doesn't make sense. I think it makes people terribly uncomfortable. It seems like religi...Show more »
I don't think that people accept the fact that life doesn't make sense. I think it makes people terribly uncomfortable. It seems like religion and myth were invented against that, trying to make sense out of it. Show less «
[on plans to build 100 transcendental meditation centers to bring an end to crime and war]: "Peace could be on this Earth this year. It woul...Show more »
[on plans to build 100 transcendental meditation centers to bring an end to crime and war]: "Peace could be on this Earth this year. It would be a whole new world." Show less «
I like to make films because I like to go into another world. I like to get lost in another world. And film to me is a magical medium that m...Show more »
I like to make films because I like to go into another world. I like to get lost in another world. And film to me is a magical medium that makes you dream...allows you to dream in the dark. It's just a fantastic thing, to get lost inside the world of film. Show less «
I would rather not make a film than make one where I don't have final cut.
I would rather not make a film than make one where I don't have final cut.
All my movies are about strange worlds that you can't go into unless you build them and film them. That's what's so important about film to ...Show more »
All my movies are about strange worlds that you can't go into unless you build them and film them. That's what's so important about film to me. I just like going into strange worlds. Show less «
I'm not sure what these people are saying. Is it that if you depicted no graphic violence, the world would calm down and there would be less...Show more »
I'm not sure what these people are saying. Is it that if you depicted no graphic violence, the world would calm down and there would be less violence? Or is it that if you sense certain things about violence and then portray those things in a film, does that make the violence go to another level? Or is the violence in films a way to experience something without having to do it in real life? Show less «
Sex is a doorway to something so powerful and mystical, but movies usually depict it in a completely flat way. Being explicit doesn't tap in...Show more »
Sex is a doorway to something so powerful and mystical, but movies usually depict it in a completely flat way. Being explicit doesn't tap into the mystical aspect of it either in fact, that usually kills it because people don't want to see sex so much as they want to experience the emotions that go along with it. These things are hard to convey in film because sex is such a mystery. Show less «
I'm convinced we all are voyeurs. It's part of the detective thing. We want to know secrets and we want to know what goes on behind those wi...Show more »
I'm convinced we all are voyeurs. It's part of the detective thing. We want to know secrets and we want to know what goes on behind those windows. And not in a way that we would use to hurt anyone. There's an entertainment value to it, but at the same time we want to know: What do humans do? Do they do the same things as I do? It's a gaining of some sort of knowledge, I think. Show less «
My mother refused to give me coloring books as a child. She probably saved me, Because when you think about it, what a coloring book does is...Show more »
My mother refused to give me coloring books as a child. She probably saved me, Because when you think about it, what a coloring book does is completely kill creativity. Show less «
There's something deeply satisfying about directing the flow of water.
There's something deeply satisfying about directing the flow of water.
Cigarettes are pretty much my worst vice, and I even stopped smoking for 20 years. I spend most of my free time with my family and working o...Show more »
Cigarettes are pretty much my worst vice, and I even stopped smoking for 20 years. I spend most of my free time with my family and working on art. Show less «
Sex was like a world so mysterious to me, I really couldn't believe there was this fantastic texture to life that I was getting to do...it h...Show more »
Sex was like a world so mysterious to me, I really couldn't believe there was this fantastic texture to life that I was getting to do...it has all these different levels, from lust and fearful, violent sex to the real spiritual thing at the other end. It's the key to some fantastic mystery of life. Show less «
I like things to be orderly. For seven years I ate at Bob's Big Boy. I would go at 2:30, after the lunch rush. I ate a chocolate shake and f...Show more »
I like things to be orderly. For seven years I ate at Bob's Big Boy. I would go at 2:30, after the lunch rush. I ate a chocolate shake and four, five, six, seven cups of coffee--with lots of sugar. And there's lots of sugar in that chocolate shake. It's a thick shake. In a silver goblet. I would get a rush from all this sugar, and I would get so many ideas! I would write them on these napkins. It was like I had a desk with paper. All I had to do was remember to bring my pen, but a waitress would give me one if I remembered to return it at the end of my stay. I got a lot of ideas at Bob's. Show less «
[on actor Kyle MacLachlan]: "What do we do together? I have a pretty good cappuccino machine, and anytime he gets the urge, he comes on over...Show more »
[on actor Kyle MacLachlan]: "What do we do together? I have a pretty good cappuccino machine, and anytime he gets the urge, he comes on over. We talk about the problems associated with getting a good cup of coffee." Show less «
In a large city I realized there was a large amount of fear. Coming from the Northwest, it kind of hits you like a train.
In a large city I realized there was a large amount of fear. Coming from the Northwest, it kind of hits you like a train.
There was nothing much going on upstairs until the age of nineteen.
There was nothing much going on upstairs until the age of nineteen.
As a teenager, I was really trying to have fun 24 hours a day. I didn't start thinking until I was 20 or 21. I was doing regular goof-ball s...Show more »
As a teenager, I was really trying to have fun 24 hours a day. I didn't start thinking until I was 20 or 21. I was doing regular goof-ball stuff. Show less «
My father was a scientist for the Forest Service. He would drive me through the woods in his green Forest Service truck, over dirt roads, th...Show more »
My father was a scientist for the Forest Service. He would drive me through the woods in his green Forest Service truck, over dirt roads, through the most beautiful forests where the trees are very tall and shafts of sunlight come down and in the mountain streams the rainbow trout leap out and their little trout sides catch glimpses of light. Then my father would drop me in the woods and go off. It was a weird, comforting feeling being in the woods. There were odd, mysterious things. That's the kind of world I grew up in. Show less «
[on his 1965 sojourn to Europe to study art] I didn't take to Europe. I was all the time thinking, "This is where I'm going to be painting"....Show more »
[on his 1965 sojourn to Europe to study art] I didn't take to Europe. I was all the time thinking, "This is where I'm going to be painting". And there was no inspiration there at all for the kind of work I wanted to do. Show less «
[on his 1965 sojourn to Europe to study art] I intended to stay three years. Instead, I stayed 15 days! I remember lying in an Athens baseme...Show more »
[on his 1965 sojourn to Europe to study art] I intended to stay three years. Instead, I stayed 15 days! I remember lying in an Athens basement with lizards crawling along the walls and contemplating that I was 7,000 miles from McDonalds! Show less «
[on why his officially sanctioned DVDs contain no chapter stops] It is my opinion that a film is not like a book--it should not be broken up...Show more »
[on why his officially sanctioned DVDs contain no chapter stops] It is my opinion that a film is not like a book--it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such. Show less «
Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until h...Show more »
Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until he was a bloody pulp, after a while it would make you laugh because it becomes absurd. Show less «
I let the actors work out their ideas before shooting, then tell them what attitudes I want. If a scene isn't honest, it stands out like a s...Show more »
I let the actors work out their ideas before shooting, then tell them what attitudes I want. If a scene isn't honest, it stands out like a sore thumb. Show less «
[on Sheryl Lee and her performance in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)] It turns out, at least in my opinion, she's an unbelievable actr...Show more »
[on Sheryl Lee and her performance in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)] It turns out, at least in my opinion, she's an unbelievable actress and there are things that she's done in this movie that are truly incredible. I haven't seen too many people get into a role and give it as much. So, the big news for me was this person was hired to be a dead girl and turns out to be a great actress and a perfect Laura Palmer. Show less «
[on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)] I love that film. I say now that The Straight Story (1999) is my most experimental movie, but up u...Show more »
[on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)] I love that film. I say now that The Straight Story (1999) is my most experimental movie, but up until then, "Fire Walk With Me" was my most experimental film, and some of the things, the combos, you know, like, sequences . . . It was a dark film, but like Peggy Lipton said in an interview, it was just too much in people's faces, and it didn't have the humor of Twin Peaks (1990). So it was what it was supposed to be, but it wasn't what people wanted. It was supposed to be stand-alone, but it was also supposed to be the last week of Laura Palmer's life. And all those things that had been established, they could be pleasant on one level to experience, but unpleasant on another level. Show less «
[remarking about Elvis Presley's reported comment to one of his backup singers that he thought no one would remember him] That's incredible....Show more »
[remarking about Elvis Presley's reported comment to one of his backup singers that he thought no one would remember him] That's incredible. Elvis swims in our minds, and in the emotions all through time. Show less «
[on Eyes Wide Shut (1999)] I really love Eyes Wide Shut. I just wonder if Stanley Kubrick really did finish it the way he wanted to before h...Show more »
[on Eyes Wide Shut (1999)] I really love Eyes Wide Shut. I just wonder if Stanley Kubrick really did finish it the way he wanted to before he died. Show less «
[on actress Joan Chen] She's the best thing from China since pasta - and much more beautiful. (People, May 04, 1992)
[on actress Joan Chen] She's the best thing from China since pasta - and much more beautiful. (People, May 04, 1992)
[on actress Sherilyn Fenn] She's a mysterious girl and I think that actresses like her who have a mystery - where there's something hiding b...Show more »
[on actress Sherilyn Fenn] She's a mysterious girl and I think that actresses like her who have a mystery - where there's something hiding beneath the surface - are the really interesting ones. (Premiere UK, July 1993) Show less «
I was driving through Central Park with Kyle MacLachlan and on the radio came Crying by Roy Orbison. I started listening to this song and I'...Show more »
I was driving through Central Park with Kyle MacLachlan and on the radio came Crying by Roy Orbison. I started listening to this song and I'm thinking only of Blue Velvet (1986) and I'm thinking this song could appear in the film. Once we were filming in Virginia, I ask for Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits and I hear In Dreams and boom! An explosion goes off in my head. And I think, "This is it." Dennis [Hopper] was supposed to sing that and Dean Stockwell was supposed to listen but Dennis couldn't remember the lines. And I thought, "Wait a minute, Dean will sing and Dennis will listen." It was a magical thing. Show less «
People say my films are dark. But like lightness, darkness stems from a reflection of the world. The thing is, I get these ideas that I trul...Show more »
People say my films are dark. But like lightness, darkness stems from a reflection of the world. The thing is, I get these ideas that I truly fall in love with. And a good movie idea is often like a girl you're in love with, but you know she's not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents, because they sometimes hold some dark and troubling things. Show less «
[on The Straight Story (1999)] I wanted the film to have a floating feeling. I particularly wanted that quality to come through in the aeria...Show more »
[on The Straight Story (1999)] I wanted the film to have a floating feeling. I particularly wanted that quality to come through in the aerial landscape shots, and it took a lot of explaining to get the helicopter pilots to slow down enough to get the look I was after. Show less «
[on The Straight Story (1999)] Some people still wait for something very bad to happen in the movie. Also, somebody was standing in line for...Show more »
[on The Straight Story (1999)] Some people still wait for something very bad to happen in the movie. Also, somebody was standing in line for a preview screening and a lady behind them said, 'Isn't it odd that there are two directors named David Lynch.' Show less «
[on 'Richard Farnsworth' in The Straight Story (1999)] A lot of times people say someone was born to play a certain role. If there was ever ...Show more »
[on 'Richard Farnsworth' in The Straight Story (1999)] A lot of times people say someone was born to play a certain role. If there was ever a case for that, this is it. The film hangs on his performance. There's nobody who could have done it like he did. He has a quality, which is in all the films he's been in, that just makes you want to instantly love this guy. He fits the definition of an actor - a person who makes something real. Show less «
Sometimes when you pass a house and you see that the door's closed, the window blinds are closed, you wonder what's going on in there. We al...Show more »
Sometimes when you pass a house and you see that the door's closed, the window blinds are closed, you wonder what's going on in there. We all get feelings from places. Some feelings are happy feelings, and some don't put out such happy feelings. There seems to be something more. Show less «
I loved smoking cigarettes as a child. I loved matches. I loved lighting matches.
I loved smoking cigarettes as a child. I loved matches. I loved lighting matches.
It's thrilling for me to play an electric guitar. I like to think of it as a gasoline-powered engine. Running rough, with a loud muffler.
It's thrilling for me to play an electric guitar. I like to think of it as a gasoline-powered engine. Running rough, with a loud muffler.
Desiring an idea is like bait on a hook. You can pull them in. If you catch an idea that you love, that's a beautiful day, and you write it ...Show more »
Desiring an idea is like bait on a hook. You can pull them in. If you catch an idea that you love, that's a beautiful day, and you write it down. That idea might just be a fragment of the whole, but now you have even more bait. Thinking about that small fragment, that little fish will bring in more. Pretty soon you may have a script. Show less «
There's a comfort when you realize your ideas are realized. You've worked so that all the elements are working together and it feels complet...Show more »
There's a comfort when you realize your ideas are realized. You've worked so that all the elements are working together and it feels complete and correct and you say it's done. Then it goes out into the world, but it doesn't need any more explanation. It is what it is. Cinema is such a beautiful language [but] as soon as people finish a film, people want you to turn it into words. It's kind of a sadness for me: the words are limiting. Show less «
An inner anger is poison. A person who is angry is poisoning them self and poisoning the environment.
An inner anger is poison. A person who is angry is poisoning them self and poisoning the environment.
[2008 interview] Now if you're playing a movie on a telephone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film. You'll think you have...Show more »
[2008 interview] Now if you're playing a movie on a telephone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film. You'll think you have experienced it, but you'll be cheated. It's such a sadness that you think you've seen a film on your fucking telephone. Get real. Show less «
[on Eraserhead (1977)] Then we showed it to a guy who was a friend of Terrence Malick - his financial backer, I think. Terry was trying to h...Show more »
[on Eraserhead (1977)] Then we showed it to a guy who was a friend of Terrence Malick - his financial backer, I think. Terry was trying to help me get some money and he said, 'I want to show some scenes to this man, maybe he'll help you.' But Terry had not seen anything. So we organized several scenes, and this man came in and sat down and I was, you know, trembling. I was at the console with Al [sound designer Alan Splet] And in the middle of this thing the man stood up and screamed: 'PEOPLE DON'T ACT LIKE THAT! PEOPLE DON'T TALK LIKE THAT! THIS IS BULLSHIT!' And out he went. But, like, really upset. And Ron, the projectionist upstairs, heard this and everybody was just looking at each other. so I thought, 'Man!', you know, 'This is gonna be really difficult!' [from "Lynch on Lynch": revised edition, page 82] Show less «
I started selling out on Dune (1984). Looking back, it's no one's fault but my own. I probably shouldn't have done that picture, but I saw t...Show more »
I started selling out on Dune (1984). Looking back, it's no one's fault but my own. I probably shouldn't have done that picture, but I saw tons and tons of possibilities for things I loved, and this was the structure to do them in. There was so much room to create a world. But I got strong indications from Raffaella and Dino De Laurentiis of what kind of film they expected, and I knew I didn't have final cut. Show less «
Dune (1984) I didn't have final cut on. It's the only film I've made where I didn't have, I didn't technically have final cut on The Elephan...Show more »
Dune (1984) I didn't have final cut on. It's the only film I've made where I didn't have, I didn't technically have final cut on The Elephant Man (1980) but Mel Brooks gave it to me, and on Dune (1984) the film, I started selling out even in the script phase knowing I didn't have final cut, and I sold out, so it was a slow dying- the-death and a terrible terrible experience. I don't know how it happened, I trusted that it would work out but it was very naive and, the wrong move. In those days the maximum length they figured I could have is two hours and seventeen minutes, and that's what the film is, so they wouldn't lose a screening a day, so once again it's money talking and not for the film at all and so it was like compacted and it hurt it, it hurt it. There is no other version. There's more stuff, but even that is putrefied. Show less «
I say Eraserhead (1977) is my The Philadelphia Story (1940). I like smoke and fire and the sounds of the factories.
I say Eraserhead (1977) is my The Philadelphia Story (1940). I like smoke and fire and the sounds of the factories.
I always give credit to Angelo Badalamenti for bringing me into the world of music.
I always give credit to Angelo Badalamenti for bringing me into the world of music.
I'm in a transition. I am painting, and I am painting over and then painting, and then painting over, and destroying, and painting, and dest...Show more »
I'm in a transition. I am painting, and I am painting over and then painting, and then painting over, and destroying, and painting, and destroying, and painting over. Show less «
Be true to yourself. Find your own voice and be true to that voice. Never take a bad idea, but never turn down a good idea. And, of course, ...Show more »
Be true to yourself. Find your own voice and be true to that voice. Never take a bad idea, but never turn down a good idea. And, of course, have final cut. Show less «
Every idea that you fall in love with is a gift. How the ideas come is the trick.
Every idea that you fall in love with is a gift. How the ideas come is the trick.
[on being asked if he takes drugs] Yes, I eat a tremendous amount of sugar!
[on being asked if he takes drugs] Yes, I eat a tremendous amount of sugar!
I like the idea that everything has a surface which hides much more underneath. Someone can look very well and have a whole bunch of disease...Show more »
I like the idea that everything has a surface which hides much more underneath. Someone can look very well and have a whole bunch of diseases cooking: there are all sorts of dark, twisted things lurking down there. I go down in that darkness and see what's there. Coffee shops are nice safe places to think. I like sitting in brightly lit places where I can drink coffee and have some sugar. Then, before I know it, I'm down under the surface gliding along; if it becomes too heavy, I can always pop back into the coffee shop. Show less «
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