Friday, October 24, 2002

Our Lady of Sorrow still not Lynch's next film

It seems the rumor that Lynch is somehow involved with the film Our Lady of Sorrow just refuses to die, no matter how many times Lynch denies it. The rumor was started by a brazilian actor named Pedro Andrade to get publicity for himself. He's now claiming that Lynch is hiding the information because of copyright issues. However, the producers of the real Our Lady of Sorrow film have issued a statement on their website in an effort to clear things up:

"Our Lady of Sorrow is a independent film currently in development. Pedro Andrade auditioned for the lead role of Tim in November 2001, but was not offered the part. The script is written (© 2000 - 2002) and will be directed by Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch. They and myself, Parker Cross, the producer of the project, have no affiliation with David Lynch. According to Mr. Lynch's office, there is no film project currently in development, neither to be directed nor produced by David Lynch, entitled Our Lady of Sorrow. Now, despite Mr. Lynch’s specifically denying the claim by Pedro Andrade (made in interviews with a number of Brazilian publications) and despite Mr. Andrade’s promise to Mr. Widmyer to “clear things up”, Mr. Andrade has persisted in his false claims and has even suggested, according to a writer for the Brazilian paper “Folha de S. Paulo”, that Mr. Widmyer has filed suit against Mr. Lynch. This perhaps, to the directors and producer of Our Lady of Sorrow, is the most egregious of Mr. Andrade’s false claims.
We are concerned that Mr. Andrade will damage the credibility of our project and have warned him repeatedly to cease in concocting stories with respect to our film, yet apparently to no avail.

AP article on Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts grabs the brass 'Ring'
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Posted: 2:28 PM EDT
Naomi Watts is finally getting some leading-lady stardom.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Breakthrough actress, star of tomorrow. Naomi Watts has spent much of the last year accepting awards as Hollywood's next big thing after her persona-shifting role in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive."
The 34-year-old Watts finds the sudden attention wryly amusing after more than a decade of steady but obscure work in movies and television.
The actress has been on the periphery of stardom for so long that Laurie MacDonald, a producer on her new movie "The Ring," joked at the film's October premiere that Watts is the industry's longest-reigning new discovery.
Last December, the National Board of Review picked Watts as breakthrough actress of 2001. A month later, the National Society of Film Critics named her best actress for "Mulholland Drive." In March, Watts was honored as female star of tomorrow at ShoWest, an annual convention of theater owners.
The Hollywood Film Festival, where "The Ring" premiered, handed Watts her latest prize, its breakthrough acting award.
Watts lets out a hearty laugh when asked if she feels like a poster person for Hollywood perseverance.
"I've had all those beautiful accolades and acknowledgments, star of tomorrow, breakthrough performer. It was incredibly exciting, and it still is," Watts said in an interview.
"But it's so ironic, because I've been working for so long. I have no reason to complain, and I'm really flattered. But 'breaking through'? I feel like I snuck through. Like, 'Hey, I'm on the list.' "
In "The Ring," Watts plays a reporter who pursues a mysterious videotape that kills people seven days after being viewed.
"The Ring" marks her first lead role in a big studio movie. A remake of a 1998 Japanese horror sensation, "The Ring" stars Watts as a reporter pursuing a story about a mysterious videotape whose viewers die horribly a week later.
Her performance in "Mulholland Drive" helped Watts land the role, along with juicy parts in a string of upcoming films.
"The surprise is that it's taken us in Hollywood this long to see what she always has been," said Walter F. Parkes, a producer on "The Ring." "What's so exciting about Naomi is having someone who brings the freshness of a new discovery or ingenue with the kind of depth of a seasoned actress. To have those two qualities in one package is a great thing."
Born in England, Watts moved at 14 with her family to Australia, where she began studying acting. Her first significant role was a small part in 1991's "Flirting," which starred her close friend Nicole Kidman.
Her other early films included "Wide Sargasso Sea," "Gross Misconduct," "Tank Girl" and "Dangerous Beauty." But Watts, who moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, remained a virtual unknown outside Hollywood circles.
Watts thought her day had finally come in early 1999, when she shot the pilot for "Mulholland Drive," "Twin Peaks" creator Lynch's new TV series.
Set in Hollywood, "Mulholland Drive" featured Watts as a naive, fresh-faced starlet wannabe who falls into a serpentine mystery adventure with a gorgeous amnesiac (Laura Elena Harring).
After assurances that the show would be a hit, Watts was crushed when networks passed on "Mulholland Drive." Lynch eventually revived it as a theatrical film, adding new scenes that gave Watts a chance to show her stuff as her character transforms from innocence to harsh hatefulness.
'I'm eternally indebted to Mr. Lynch'
Other filmmakers took notice. Besides "The Ring," Watts soon signed on for four other films.
Already shot are "Plots With a View," an offbeat comedy in which Watts plays the town tart opposite Christopher Walken, Brenda Blethyn and Alfred Molina in a story of rival funeral homes in Wales; "Le Divorce," a French-American culture-clash tale from the directing-producing team of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and co-starring Kate Hudson, Glenn Close and Stockard Channing; and "The Kelly Gang," in which Watts co-stars with Heath Ledger in a fictionalized romance about legendary Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.
Watts is about to start shooting "21 Grams" with Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, a film whose title carries a dual meaning as a quantity of cocaine and the "difference in body weight between life and death," Watts said. "In other words, the weight of your soul."
Without "Mulholland Drive" on her resume, none of those roles would have come her way, Watts declares.
"It's all as a result of that. Definitely," Watts said. "One guy took a chance on me, and I'm eternally indebted to Mr. Lynch."
Watts said she still can go out in public without being recognized that often, but she's had plenty of chances to witness the hard side of celebrity when hanging out with pal Kidman and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise.
"I've been with her and Tom when it's chaos, and it's tough," Watts said. "I've been in that Lady Di and Dodi situation. I've been in the back of cars with them where we're being chased 100 miles per hour, and we're like, 'Just get us out of here.' "
While braced for broader fame, Watts figures it's unlikely it will become too intrusive. Her acting tastes lean toward smaller, stranger films rather than blockbuster movies that might make her a prey of the tabloids, she said.
"I just want to sustain or maintain what it is I have now, and if that extrapolates into a bit more recognition and public awareness, then fine," Watts said. "What success really means to me is that I have these choices. Before, I was just an actor for hire. Now, I get to choose what it is I'm going to do and what it is I'm going to say."

UK Twin Peaks Season 1 DVD

Paramount will be releasing the season 1 Twin Peaks box set on November 4, 2002. List price is £49.99. The set is identical to the US version minus the DTS track but does include the pilot. Thanks to Graeme Larmour for the info. Here are the details:
Disc 1
1. Pilot Episode
2. Episode 1
3. Deleted Scenes
4. Script Notes
5. Log Lady Introductions
6. Easter Egg
Disc 2
1. Episodes 3/4/5
2. Deleted Scenes
3. Script Notes
4. Log Lady Introductions
5. Easter Egg
Disc 3
1. Episodes 5/6/7
2. Deleted Scenes
3. Script Notes
4. Log Lady Introductions
5. Easter Egg
Disc 4
1. Mark Frost Interview - 16 Mins
2. Learning To Speak In The Red Room - 4 Mins
3. An Introduction To David Lynch - 22 Mins
4. 17 Pieces Of Pie - 10 Mins
5. Postcards From The Cast - 60 Mins
Technical Features
1. Pilot Episode English Stereo Italian/Spanish/German Mono
2. Episodes 1-7 English Dolby Digital 5.1 Italian/Spanish/German Mono

Make your own Eraserhead pumpkin

I'll finish off the news update today with an amusing link on how to make your own Eraserhead pumpkin for Halloween. You can get all the details here. Thanks to LynchNet discussion board member runningdog for the link.

Monday, October 14, 2002

Twin Peaks returns to Bravo

The US Bravo channel will start showing Twin Peaks again on October 31. After an initial marathon that weekend, Twin Peaks will run in it's normal time slot of weekdays at 5:30am (EST). The timeslot sucks, but it's nice to see Peaks back on the air somewhere again.

Lynch directs a new commercial

Lynch mentioned in the chat room at davidlynch.com that he's just completed a new commercial for the French car company Citroën. The ads should start airing in France November 6th or 7th.

Blue Bob interview

The website frenchdisconnection.com has a section up for the European release of Blue Bob. You can find the site here. Clicking on the Blue Bob biography link at the site gives you a short interview with Lynch and Neff about the album.

UK Lynch DVD box set

Many readers have been emailing about the new David Lynch DVD box set released in the UK. Unfortunately, this is just a re-packaging of the existing Eraserhead, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive DVDs available in the UK. There is nothing new in the set, so if you already have the three discs there's no need to buy them again. And if you don't have them, I'd suggest you import versions from other R2 areas. Both the Eraserhead and Lost Highway DVDs are very disappointing in quality.

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

No Eraserhead DVD for a while

Looks like Lynch isn't happy with the way the Eraserhead DVD tests turned out, so they're starting from scratch. From Lynch in the chatroom at davidlynch.com over the weekend:
"ERASERHEAD WILL BE STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN FROM SCATCH THIS WEEK - IT IS THE ONLY WAY. ALL THE PREVIOUS WORK ON ERASERHEAD WILL BE ABANDONED."

Our Lady of Sorrow not Lynch's next film

Rumors have been circulating all over about a new Lynch film entitled "Our Lady of Sorrow." If such a film exists, Lynch has nothing to do with it. When asked in the chatroom at davidlynch.com, his response was, "NEVER HEARD OF IT."

Mulholland Drive encore showing in Boston

From today's Boston Globe:
"ABC commissions David Lynch to create a new show. He returns with "Mulholland Drive," a surreal, spot-on genius pilot. ABC says "No way," then hires Ben Affleck to create a pale knock-off called "Push, Nevada." See what the Disney suits passed up tonight when the Brattle Theatre screens "Mulholland Drive" at 5:30 and 8:30. 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-876-6837." Thanks to Lynchnet Discussion Board member Anastasia for the info.

No Twin Peaks Season 2 DVD this year

Looks like the rumor of a holiday release for the next Twin Peaks box set is false. You can probably expect to see it sometime in 2003.

Lynch and Neff do Paris

David Lynch and John Neff (aka Blue Bob) will be performing for at french festival "Les inrocks" on Monday, November 11th at L'Olympia, Paris. You can get more details here. Thanks to matthieu for the info.

New firmware fixes Blue Velvet DVD problems

For those with Phillips DVD players (or ones based on Phillips technology) who couldn't access the Special Features section of the new Blue Velvet DVD, there's a new firmware out that addresses this. Philips DVD Firmware Upgrade Ver. 7.22, DVD Part #4835 310 57545 for models: DVD940, DVD950, DVD711 & DVD751. You can get information on how to receive the new upgrade by contacting Philips Customer Care Center at 800-531-0039. Thanks to Chris for the info.

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