Thursday, February 08, 2007

Lynch doco in the works

From all accounts I've read, what David Lynch went through to make "Inland Empire" is the definition of a labor of love. I haven't seen what he came up with yet, but soon we may be able to get a glimpse inside the head of this great filmmaker.

According to my favorite froggie film site, Cinempire.com, a film crew followed him around for two years and ended up with more than 700 hours of footage of the man at work, plus interviews with all the principal players. With a good editor, this could easily be made into a fascinating glimpse at the creative process.

Though Lynch obviously eventually managed to finish his movie, this reminds me in the approach of "Lost in La Mancha," the great documentary by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe about Terry Gilliam's failed attempt to make a Don Quixote movie. If you haven't seen that one, do so right away, but be warned it's a true portrait of frustration.

And for the Lynch doco, the filmmakers have a blog site that consists mainly of what appears to be Lynch's handwritten notes from the set. It takes forever to load, but if you're looking for a rewarding way to waste time (and who isn't), there are certainly worse ways than reading through them.

Fun with pictures

Speaking of time-wasters, I found two more this morning that some of you may enjoy.

The first, courtesy of Rob Alstetter's Comics Continuum, is a set of 40 images from the upcoming flick 300. I've included one here, but you can click on the link to go through them and soak it all in.


The next is, believe it or not, more on the upcoming Buffy funny book (yes, when I get obsessed I just don't let it go.) Joss Whedon gave an interview to Geekmonthly.com which they're posting in four parts. Read part two by clicking on the link.

They also featured a page from the comic that shows what happens to Dawn after she gets sexually entangled with something called a "thricewise." It was way too big to post here, but visit the site to find what I can only assume is very funny dialogue between Dawn, Buffy and two Buffy clones. I guess we'll have to wait and see for sure when the comic comes out in a few weeks. Peace out.

10 comments:

jeremy said...

I'd love to see a Lynch doc--there's already "Pretty as a Picture" which is pretty good. And to get an idea about his creative process, there's the Lynch penned "Catching the Big Fish" which recently came out.
As for Buff--I've had dreams about the comic. That's how preoccupied with it I am.
Oh, and remember when you were talking docs? I forgot to mention Home Movie and American movie. I think they're both pretty stellar.
One more thing--you've read David Foster Wallace's piece on Lynch, right?
article

Reel Fanatic said...

I hadn't actually read that, Jeremy, but thanks to your link, I plan to do so rather than so work this afternoon

Jim Marquis said...

I hope the Lynch documentary is better than "Inland Empire". I saw it about a week ago and it had all the excitement of a cheese aging competition.

I loved the earlier Lynch films. I was watching "Dune" the other day and really enjoyed it. There are parts that don't work but for the most part it reflects the imagination of a truly visionary artist.

PIPER said...

Haven't seen Inland Empire yet, but am really looking forward to it. The doc on Lynch should be good.

I didn't know about Pretty As A Picture, but I want to check it out since Lynch doesn't participate in commentaries on his DVDs, or anything else for that matter.

Anonymous said...

Oh I can't wait! I was excited about "Inland Empire" but I'm just as excited about the doco. Going over to check out the pictures and notes now!

* (asterisk) said...

As I type this (6:24pm on 8 Feb), Inland Empire is playing at the National Film Theatre in London and will be followed by a Q&A with Lynch. I am soooo looking forward to this film. The documentary should be fascinating, too.

Reel Fanatic said...

I'm jealous Mr. * ... I'm sure that in person he would be a bit of a rambler, but I'd listen to anything that man had to say

And I'm definitely with you on "Dune," J. Marquis ... I've never understood why people put it down, because to me it's just fascinating

Anonymous said...

Watching newer David Lynch movies are almost as boring as watching a elderly washed-up snob's two hour rambling manifesto about his fear of vagina.

Almost.

* (asterisk) said...

Dude, I'm jealous too! I wasn't able to secure tix. What can ya do?

Reel Fanatic said...

Ah .. I misunderstood .. I thought you meant you were going to that screening and Q&A .. The National Film Theatre is one of my favorite places in the world to watch movies ... The last time I was lucky enough to be in London we went there to see "Nashville" and "La Dolce Vita"