Film-Illustrierte 2 / 1985

Creativity is important...

A David Lynch-interview by Gernot Gricksch and Kristian Kunze

David Lynch and producer Raffaela di Laurentiis

Waiting an hour for a David Lynch interview only increases the tension. We`re curious to get to know who has done so entirely different movies like "The Elephant Man" and "Dune". Finally, we meet with someone who turns out to be neither an arrogant intellectual, nor a crazy freak but a calm, nice, almost bleak person.

FI: "Dune" will be released theatrically in the USA and (West-) Germany the same day. On which scale will it be released?

DL: The film will be shown in about 1500 theatres in the USA, some of them will show  70-mm-copies.

FI: So you expect the film to become a great commercial success?

DL: You can never tell, but I`m optimistic and think the movie`s fine. Nevertheless, it`s solely up to the audience whether it`ll become a commercial success.

FI: Your last film, "The Elephant Man", could be labelled an arthouse movie. Why do you think Dino de Laurentiis chose you to direct "Dune"? There are certainly more 'commercial' directors than you are.

DL: Amazingly,  Dino liked "The Elephant Man" very much. He invited me to come to his office, looked me in the eyes and said: "Okay, never mind. Let`s do it!"

FI: "The Elephant Man" and "Dune" seem so different that`s it`s hard to imagine they`re made by the same director.

DL: Of course the films are very different but that`s only natural considering the stories they`re based on. If you work with a certain story, you have to accept its restrictions.

FI: ... but the critical response is less favorable by far compared with "The Elephant Man".

DL: Dune is possibly the most difficult film I`ve made so far. It works on so many different levels, encompassing inner moods and dreams, and the plot itself is also very extraordinary. This kind of film is just not for everyone`s taste.

FI: What about Sting? The fact that his performance is limited to three relatively small scenes, seems to suggest that his name is mostly used for the purpose of promotion.

DL: Sting was brought up very early. At the beginning, I didn`t want to cast him exactly for the reason you just mentioned. Then I saw him in scenes he`s done before and decided that he would be perfect for "Dune". 

FI: The film pays great attention to set designs, costumes, props and special effects. Yet the entire production design doesn`t appear quite like a typical science fiction film. Sometimes it looks almost oldfashioned.

DL: That`s true. Frank Herbert`s is a lot about ancient cultures. I payed respect to that in the imagery of the film. Leather was used for the interiors of the spaceships for example, in a way that´s reminiscent of the 20s.

FI: Some people think the film is too violent.

DL: (laughs) That opinion would have been justified, if I had used all the violence that is present in the novel. I`ve already reduced the aspect of violence.

FI: What are your plans for the future?

DL: If Dune becomes a success, I`ll shoot the sequel. I`ve also written two screenplays, and I`d love to film one of them in the near future. The first one is a thriller called "Blue Velvet", the other one is a strange comedy entitled "Ronnie Rocket".

FI: Is "Dune" your "greatest" film so far?

DL: No film ever is the "greatest". I`m never absolutely satisfied with a film I`ve done. I love cinema and I love making films, but you`re never perfect. Creativity is important.

Photos: Ralf Metzger