David Lynch death: Steven Spielberg, Kyle MacLachlan, Naomi Watts and more pay tribute to auteur
Collaborators including Nicolas Cage and Lara Flynn Boyle have shared their thoughts on the director’s death
David Lynch, the celebrated director of avant-garde films such as Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive and The Elephant Man and the much-loved TV show Twin Peaks, has died at the age of 78.
His family announced his death in a Facebook post on Thursday (16 January), writing, “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”
Lynch developed a singular style known for unsettling visuals, stream-of-consciousness storytelling, and kitsch soundtracks. As a director he walked a tightrope between his artistic sensibilities and his inexplicable popular appeal among the more conventional moviegoing public, with New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael labelling him “the first populist surrealist”.
In his frequent collaborations with Hollywood luminaries such as Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Naomi Watts, Jack Nance and Harry Dean Stanton, the director leaves behind an oeuvre that rivals those of the medium’s most accomplished auteurs.
Many stars who worked with Lynch, including Dern, MacLachlan, Watts and Nicolas Cage, have paid tribute to the director, with Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard also honouring their fellow filmmaker.
Find the tributes to Lynch below.
Judd Apatow says Lynch had a ‘unique soul'
The 40-Year-Old Virgin and This Is 40 director Judd Apatow has posted a tribute to Lynch on Instagram, writing: “Just a few months ago Michael Bonfiglio and myself got to interview David Lynch at his home for our documentary about Mel Brooks. He was kind and hilarious and full of life. I took a ton of photos of him during the interview. Every one captures his joy and unique soul.
“His work was magnificent. It stays with you forever. His efforts to spread transcendental meditation through his foundation changed the lives of countless people including mine. His book about creativity, Catching The Big Fish, is a game changer. He was a true gift to us all!”
Kyle MacLachlan says he was ‘forever changed’ by Lynch in heartfelt message
Kyle MacLachlan, a frequent collaborator of Lynch who starred in Dune and Twin Peaks, posted a heartfelt statement about the late director on Instagram.
“Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie,” wrote MacLachlan.
“He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision.
“What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to.
“Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met.
“David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath.
“While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I’ve lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own.
“I can see him now, standing up to greet me in his backyard, with a warm smile and big hug and that Great Plains honk of a voice. We’d talk coffee, the joy of the unexpected, the beauty of the world, and laugh.
“His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other.
“I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.
“David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”
Nicolas Cage says: ‘I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch'
Nicolas Cage, who starred in Lynch’s Wild at Heart in 1990, told Deadline that the director “was a singular genius in cinema, one of the greatest artists of this or any time.”
“He was brave, brilliant, and a maverick with a joyful sense of humor,” Cage continued. “I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold.”
Lara Flynn Boyle calls Lynch ‘the true Willy Wonka of filmmaking'
Lara Flynn Boyle, who played Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks, remembered Lynch in a statement to Deadline: “There goes the true Willy Wonka of filmmaking. I feel like I got the golden ticket getting a chance to work with him. He will be greatly missed.”
Naomi Watts says she feels lucky to have been a part of Lynch’s ‘altered world'
In a moving statement posted to Instagram, Mulholland Drive star Naomi Watts said: “My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave… The world will not be the same without him. His creative mentorship was truly powerful. He put me on the map. The world I’d been trying to break into for ten plus years, flunking auditions left and right. Finally, I sat in front of a curious man, beaming with light, speaking words from another era, making me laugh and feel at ease. How did he even “see me” when I was so well hidden, and I’d even lost sight of myself?!
“It wasn’t just his art that impacted me – his wisdom, humor, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before.
“Every moment together felt charged with a presence I’ve rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe.
“I just cannot believe that he’s gone. I’m in pieces but forever grateful for our friendship. I’m yelling from the bullhorn: Godspeed, Buddy Dave! Thank you for your everything. —Buttercup xox”
Francis Ford Coppola says he’s ‘heartbroken’ by death of Lynch
The Godfather and Megalopolis director Francis Ford Coppola has posted a brief statement to Instagram, writing: “I am astounded and heartbroken I can’t express with any words the profound loss of the great David Lynch my friend.”
Russell Brand says Lynch’s death marks end of an epoch
Russell Brand, who knew David Lynch through his work on transcendental meditation, posted a tribute to Lynch on Instagram:
“I knew David Lynch a little. Based on his work as an artist, I don’t know how anyone could claim to know him well, beyond blood relatives and his wife. Maybe wives. Movies are “public dreams” and no filmmaker wove dreams like Lynch. His name became an adjective and synonym for “dreamlike” or surreal. As the fires devoured the city that defined him he was dying. Lynchian.
“I asked him once in LA ‘Why do you like it here?’‘The light.’ He said.
“He wouldn’t put out the incessant cigarettes he smoked on his glazed concrete floors but just let them drop and burn out - ‘it marks them’ he said. I’m not suggesting the whole city went ablaze as a result of his negligence but I reckon that Lynch’s death as a coda on those dreadful conflagrations helps us see them as epochal and epoch ending; the Hollywood of Lynch is gone. Lynch is gone. Trump is in office now and that very American ‘Jimmy Stewart from Mars’ yet somehow ‘French’ true auteur of Outpost Drive is dead as the embers smolder.
“Everything was art to him. I saw stalls he’d made, they were amazing. A lamp that blew my mind. Mad cartoons, demonic and full of droogish violence and toddler-carnality. I asked him what he thought enlightenment was and he drew me a picture. Seriously. He drew a picture of consciousness and how ideas emerge from some ulterior field of oneness. He enjoyed and accepted decay. Our mutual friend Bob Roth who runs his T M (transcendental meditation) foundation said ‘David is equally intrigued by every chapter of life. He’d be fascinated by a baby rabbit, an adult rabbit, a dead rabbit, a rabbit’s decomposing corpse.’ He had an overview of life, an under-view of life, he was a True Artist.
“He said to me ‘If you fail while living by your principles as an artist you die once, if you fail while living by someone else’s you die twice.’ David Lynch only died once.”
Edgar Wright recalls surprise meeting with Lynch
Shaun of the Dead and Last Night in Soho director Edgar Wright recalled meeting Lynch at a screening of Wild at Heart.
On Instagram, Wright wrote: “What can be said about David Lynch that hasn’t already been captured in countless tributes by fans and filmmakers? A director of singular vision, defined by his magical style and fascinating ambiguities. Though his work is one of a kind, he has inspired many to pick up a camera. While my work may not seem particularly ‘Lynchian,’ his influence always looms large. One transition in Blue Velvet — Frank Booth disappearing from frame before a wild nighttime trip with yellow road markings whizzing by — buzzes in my brain forever.
“In 2011, I had a glorious encounter with the man himself. At the time, I was programming films at the New Beverly Cinema for a season called ‘The Wright Stuff,’ curating dream double bills and arranging guest discussions. One night, we screened Wild at Heart and True Romance. I had already convinced the late producer Steve Golin to join for the first film, and, through a mutual friend, invited Laura Dern too. She agreed but warned she might not make it, as she was coming straight from an event.
“Steve and I introduced the film and waited to see if Laura would arrive. As the credits rolled, my publicist Greg Longstreet tapped me on the shoulder: ‘Laura’s coming,’ he said. Relieved, I got onstage for the Q&A. As the curtain to the backstage rustled, I announced to the unsuspecting audience: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Laura Dern!’ The audience erupted as she walked through the curtain.
“Thrilled, I said, ‘This is a great surprise. I wasn’t sure you’d make it!’ Laura smiled and replied, ‘Well, I have a surprise for you. I brought someone else who worked on the movie.’ Then, stepping through the curtain, was David Lynch.
“The resulting standing ovation felt endless, as if the Wizard of Oz himself had materialized. The only downside? I wasn’t ready to interview David F***ing Lynch.
“I stumbled through my first question, but he was kind and gracious. While he avoided explaining the film (rightly so), he spoke generously about film and the preservation of cinema . His presence was otherworldly, yet down-to-earth.
“That memory of him stepping through the curtain will stay with me forever. David may be gone, but his work will be eternal.”
David Lynch: Obituary
Unlike his films, and very much like his life, Lynch’s legacy is uncontroversial and unambiguous: he will, quite simply, be remembered as one of the greatest directors of all time.
Read The Independent’s obituary in full here:
David Lynch, Twin Peaks and Elephant Man director, dies aged 78
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan calls Lynch ‘a true artist'
In 1997, The Smashing Pumpkins contributed the song “Eye” to the soundtrack of Lynch’s film Lost Highway.
Frontman Billy Corgan, who Lynch once called a “magical musician”, shared a statement about the late director on social media, writing: “Truly saddened to hear of the passing of David Lynch. Working with him was like a dream out of one of his movies, and I treasure the times I got to speak with him and hear first-hand his vision for a film. I truly encourage anyone who loves movies and television to watch all that David produced. He was a true artist, through and through.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments