Some sad news to report this evening, as it has been announced that visionary American filmmaker David Lynch has passed away 78 after a battle with emphysema.
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” reads a statement on the filmmaker’s social media accounts. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time. 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.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Four-time Oscar-nominated, and the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award in 2019, Lynch began his career making short films in the 1960s before bursting onto the scene with his surreal 1977 independent body horror Eraserhead. With Hollywood beckoning, Lynch would earn his first Oscar nomination for his next film The Elephant Man, and after turning down the opportunity to direct Return of the Jedi, Lynch would then adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune, which proved to be a critical and commercial failure.
Following Dune, Lynch returned with 1986’s Blue Velvet, a controversial film which saw him earning his second Best Director nomination; initially dividing critics, the film would achieve cult status and has since grown in stature to become considered as one of Lynch’s finest works.
Along with the Palme d’Or-winning Wild at Heart, 1990 saw Lynch achieving a new level of global success with a shift into television and the launch of Twin Peaks, which quickly became a TV phenomenon around the world. It was ultimately cancelled after two seasons, with Lynch then releasing 1992’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, before revisiting the town with 2017’s critically acclaimed Twin Peaks: The Return.
Post-Twin Peaks, Lynch would return to the surreal with 1997’s Lost Highway and 2001’s Mulholland Drive, as well as taking a detour with 1999’s The Straight Story for Walt Disney Pictures. His final feature film would ultimately prove to be Inland Empire, released in 2006.
