David Lynch

Did you know?!

1. A role that slipped away

   After The Elephant Man succeeded, George Lucas offered Lynch the chance to direct Return of the Jedi, the third movie in his original Star Wars trilogy. Lynch declined, saying he had "next door to zero interest" and that Lucas should direct it himself so it reflected his own vision.

2. First role

   While at the Pennsylvania Academy, Lynch made Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) in 1967, his first short film. He wanted to see his paintings move, so he bought the cheapest 16mm camera available.

3. A change of course

   Lynch had his name struck from the extended television cut of Dune and was credited as Alan Smithee for directing and Judas Booth for writing, a pseudonym reflecting his feelings of betrayal.

4. Beyond film

   In 2001, Lynch and John Neff released BlueBob, a blues album. Lynch's guitar style on it was unusual: he played like a lap guitar, with the instrument flipped and reversed, and leaned heavily on effects pedals.

5. Behind the camera

   Lynch started writing and drawing The Angriest Dog in the World in 1983. The comic strip showed a tethered dog too angry to move, with graphics that never changed, and ran until 1992 in The Village Voice and other publications.