Legendary filmmaker David Lynch has responded to recent reports suggesting that he is ready to retire from Hollywood due to health issues. In a post on his X/Twitter account, Lynch set the record straight about his health, and what seems to have been premature reports of his need to step away from the camera. He wrote:
“Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking. I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco – the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them – but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema. I have now quit smoking for over two years. Recently I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema. I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire. I want you all to know that I really appreciate your concern.”
Twin Peaks
5/5
- Release Date
- April 8, 1990
- Seasons
- 3
- Network
- ABC
While known for directing such classics as Eraserhead and Mullholland Drive, the eccentric Lynch is most famous for creating the TV series Twin Peaks in 1990, which was recently revived on Showtime in 2017 to critical acclaim.
Stories of the inimitable director’s forced retirement came on the back of an interview with Sight & Sound magazine, in which Lynch revealed his recent emphysema diagnosis, saying that it’s preventing him from leaving his house over fears that he might get sick. The director says in the interview that his movements are limited, noting that he can “only walk a short distance” before he gets winded and has to sit down.
“I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.”
During the article, Lynch, now 78, says that because of the lung disease, it’s unlikely that he will direct a film or TV project ever again. When presented with the possibility of directing remotely over a program such as Zoom, he said that’s something he would consider if “it came down to it,” but also that he doesn’t really relish the thought of doing something like that. “I wouldn’t like that so much,” he said.
Lynch recently teased a new project which many thought might be his long-awaited animated fairy tale, Snootworld, but instead turned out to be a new album he collaborated on with Chrystabell called Cellophane Memories. Lynch hasn’t directed a full-length scripted project since Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017, but he has directed a number of short films and music videos.
David Lynch Has Always Been Ahead of His Time
After getting his start in the 1960s with a number of experimental short films, Lynch directed the independent surrealist body horror film Eraserhead in 1977. While the movie received mixed reviews at the time, today it’s regarded as a bona fide classic, and paved the way for Lynch to enter the Hollywood system in 1980 with his next movie, The Elephant Man. Earning eight Academy Award nominations – including one for Best Director – the film failed to take home any trophies, but solidified Lynch as one of the most creative and innovative filmmakers of his generation.
His next film, Dune, was an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel, but unfortunately, the epic space opera failed to resonate with both fans and critics in 1984. While he had high hopes going into the project, Lynch recently stated that the final product was not the film he wanted to make.
“My film Dune. I knew already one should have final cut before signing on to do a film. But for some reason, I thought everything would be okay, and I didn’t put final cut in my contract. And as it turned out, Dune wasn’t the film I wanted to make, because I didn’t have a final say. So, that’s a lesson I knew even before. But now, there’s no way. Why would anyone work for three years on something that wasn’t yours? Why? Why do that? Why? I died a death, and it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract.”
Lynch went on to write and direct the classics Lost Highway and Mullholland Drive, and created Twin Peaks for television in 1990. While he wasn’t necessarily a fan of the medium at the time, it presented the unique challenge of allowing him to create what was essentially a multi-hour film. The series has since gone on to be regarded as one of the most provocative TV shows of all time, and is credited with changing the face of television.
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Every David Lynch Movie, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
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While it seems that Lynch isn’t quite ready to call it quits just yet, whether we will see him delivering another mind-bending masterpiece is something that only time will tell. Either way, throughout his career, one thing that cannot be denied is that he inspired a generation of filmmakers who will carry the industry long into the future.