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David's avatar

i'll never forget Lynch talking about what a weirdo George Lucas was.

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Joe Nada (no relation)'s avatar

Haha, "He showed me something called a Wookie".

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Layne Mercer's avatar

Great read! Never considered any of this, but I imagine it could definitely apply. It happens that earlier this year I listened to the audio version of Room to Dream. It was a fantastic experience. Then I went back and rewatched Blue Velvet. Knowing all the things I learned from the book and having recently seen the movie made your essay even more groovy•

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Joe Nada (no relation)'s avatar

I've not read that one. There's also Lynch On Lynch which is apparently full of insight into his ideas. They're on my list, for sure (what isn't though lol). Is there anything in RTD about Van Gogh by any chance?

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Layne Mercer's avatar

Not that I remember, though I just listened to Catching the Big Fish and he did mention Van Gogh, only to say that popular culture often thinks that people need to suffer to create great art and will cite Van Gogh as an example, but the way Lynch sees it is that suffering usually inhibits creativity and productivity, and that if Van Gogh had not been so depressed, his work may have been even more amazing. Nothing about ears in fields.

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Bill Duross's avatar

Re: Van Gogh allusions, Frank mentions him by name before he leaves Dorothy's apartment. Something like "stay alive, baby. Do it for Van Gogh." Don't recall if there's a shot of the stars in Blue Velvet, maybe just the trees while Jeffrey and Sandy are out walking ("it's a strange world, isn't it?"). But Lynch likes a starry night--in Eraserhead, the Elephant Man, the Straight Story. And there's the red room in Twin Peaks. Eh, probably reaching now.

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Joe Nada (no relation)'s avatar

Ah yes, I completely missed that one. Very cool. So many layers to this movie - I don't know why it doesn't get the same kind of attention as Twin Peaks & Mulholland Drive.

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Jordan Orlando's avatar

This is good stuff. It reminds me of the unforgettable first time I saw it, in a theater in downtown Chicago with a bunch of people who didn’t get it or didn’t like it or both.

You know that Lynch was offered Return of the Jedi — and turned it down — before he was offered Dune, right?

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Joe Nada (no relation)'s avatar

I would pay vast sums of money to see David Lynch's Jedi. Might have even saved us from the prequels and sequels.

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