Despite being “incapacitated,” David Lynch has no intention of abandoning Hollywood. Using social media, the director clarified that he will be disclosing his emphysema diagnosis in a future conversation with Sight & Sound magazine. Lynch wrote on Twitter, “Ladies and Gentlemen, 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.”
Lynch added, “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. Love, David.”
The “Mulholland Drive” director claimed to Sight & Sound mag (through The Independent) that his compromised immune system prevents him from leaving his home. “I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out,” stated Lynch. “Because of Covid, It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.”
He “can only walk a short distance before he runs out of oxygen,” Lynch continued. Although he added, “I wouldn’t like that so much,” he informed the newspaper that he could still provide guidance remotely “if it comes to it.” Lynch helmed the music video for “Sublime Eternal Love,” featured on the recently released joint album “Cellophane Memories.” The video is largely animated. “Inland Empire,” Lynch’s latest feature film, was released in 2006. Lynch also directed “Twin Peaks: The Return” in 2017.
Based on Lynch’s longstanding producer Sabrina Sutherland, the Netflix programme “Unrecorded Night” was originally scheduled to be filmed in 2020 but was canceled owing to the epidemic. Additionally, Netflix rejected his long-awaited animated picture “Snootworld,” which he collaborated on with Caroline Thompson, the author of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “The Addams Family.”