David Lynch: The ABC of Going From the Big Screen to the Small

Midway though our interview, Lynch gets a call from his agents at the Endeavor Agency. I turn off the tape recorder. During the few minutes he's on the phone, the volume of his voice rises. I hear the words "no" and "never" several times. When he hangs up, I say, "Would you like to tell me what that was about?"

"No."

"Are you angry?"

"No, it's just that... when something is over, it's over."

"Are your agents trying to find another buyer for the show?"

"Yeah... you know... maybe."

"I understand Fox and HBO are looking at it."

"I have a problem talking about that, because in my mind, it's over."

"If you're not angry, what are you feeling?"

"I'm confused. I'm very confused. I don't know where it went funny. Had there been a different bunch of executives [at ABC], it might have gone great. I feel really bad for the actors. I wanted it to work for them. They're good people."

"They feel the same way about you. In fact, the two leading actresses [Laura Harring and Naomi Watts] spoke of you in the sort of reverential terms usually reserved for royalty and religious leaders.

"Yeah, well, that's a problem. The chicks really go for me, and there's nothing I can do about it." He laughs and drags on a cigarette. For a few seconds, his face is shrouded in smoke.

"Will you ever do TV again?"

"This will be the end of it for sure. I've got to get realistic. I love feature films, and that's what I should be doing."

"You're still directing commercials, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The money's good, and the added bonus is that I get to use and learn about the latest technology, tools that normally wouldn't be available to me, and then I can use those tools in my feature work. I like doing them in Europe."

"Have you thought of moving to Europe where, one supposes, your TV pilots would be better received?"

"Yeah. I've thought about it quite a bit. But I love Los Angeles."

"What do you love about it?"

"The light... and the feeling in the air... the feeling of optimism."

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Jeffrey Lantos interviewed Garry Marshall for the July 99 issue of Movieline.

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