Season 4? Or is it over after this? Wisteria/Unrecorded Night? Something else? (Speculation thread.)

[johndaker]

Our very own Dugpa Lynch got him to basically confirm Lynch is lying.

Maybe this goes without saying, but I haven't noticed anyone else mentioning it: the film Aftab mentions here, Najda, wasn't directed by DKL but was executive produced by him and features him onscreen in a cameo role.

So the invocation of that film, coupled with an anecdote about an audience member attributing the film itself (or at least its effect on the audience) to DKL, leads me to think that the point of the tweet isn't to imply DKL is lying (except perhaps when he said "I don't know whose it is") but rather to suggest that there is a new, secret film DKL is involved with debuting at Cannes, but that he did not direct that film.

To me, that was already the upshot of the peculiar wording of DKL's denials, especially the "But there is something new" bit.

[Jonah]

Just to clarify - "Laura Dern has several items in development" was meant to be its own line in that list, the others separate, not necessarily that she's a part of them (she could be but I don't think she is, would have to check them again).

[Histeria]

I had no idea Laura Dern was in these, yeah these could be it. (...) Either of these would fit Lynch knowing about a film in Cannes, particularly as EP, he would probably have a hand in getting a good word in with the Cannes committees.

Even if that's the case, and I agree it could be, he's still lying: "But there is something new, but it's not mine. I don't know whose it is. They say there's something new at Cannes, and they don't say whose it is, and some people thought it was my film, but it's not. So we'll wait and see, and see whose it is."

Like many a line in Twin Peaks, it takes a few rounds of contemplation to arrive at just how absurd it is despite sounding so perfectly reasonable at first glace.

[enumbs]

Have to say that I am in love with the idea of Lynch giving Jack Cruz director’s credit. It would be historic for Cannes, and ensure that Lynch’s number of feature film credits would remain at ten, the number of completion.

[enumbs]

Like many a line in Twin Peaks, it takes a few rounds of contemplation to arrive at just how absurd it is despite sounding so perfectly reasonable at first glace.

Someone on Reddit compared his speaking style to Trump, and now I can’t unsee it.

[Stavrogyn]

Have to say that I am in love with the idea of Lynch giving Jack Cruz director’s credit. It would be historic for Cannes, and ensure that Lynch’s number of feature film credits would remain at ten, the number of completion.

Actually, the idea that he could go from 10 to 11 does bother me, and similar things bother me with other directors as well. If he makes a new film, he should make at least one more, but it still wouldn't be near as perfect as 10.

That's probably why he stopped making films in the first place

[mojo1976]

I kept thinking the same thing about the Trump way of speaking, but didn't want to say it. He says "whose it is" three times and that he knows something but doesn't know. It definitely sounds like someone trying to deny something and then winking at them. It's like Kayne West constantly saying he's NOT in the Illuminati: he keeps saying it so we think he's actually in it and denying it, when he's just really crazy--he wants us to believe he's in some secret society. Lynch said a lot in those few sentences and yet didn't say much at all. He said he doesn't have a film or project, yet there was a point when writing season 3 that he said Twin Peaks was dead. I love the guy, but I don't believe a lot of what he says. I'm still cautiously optimistic.

[Mr. Reindeer]

The whole EW interview is so hilariously uninformative. The interviewer asks what the lumberjack is doing in the end credits of IE (meaning, why is there a lumberjack there?), and Lynch responds that he is sawing wood. The interviewer asks Lynch’s thoughts on Hollywood Blvd., and Lynch responds, “It’s a street.” Terrible interview questions, and Lynch clearly was feeling VERY forthcoming.

[Mr. Reindeer]

I had no idea Laura Dern was in these, yeah these could be it. (...) Either of these would fit Lynch knowing about a film in Cannes, particularly as EP, he would probably have a hand in getting a good word in with the Cannes committees.

Even if that's the case, and I agree it could be, he's still lying: "But there is something new, but it's not mine. I don't know whose it is. They say there's something new at Cannes, and they don't say whose it is, and some people thought it was my film, but it's not. So we'll wait and see, and see whose it is."

Good point. Strange that people are so quick to believe he’s being genuine in his initial denial but still think he’s lying about the rest of it. Doesn’t it make just as much (or more) sense that he’s lying the whole time?

I don’t understand the Aftab reference to Nadja at all, truthfully.

[LateReg]

Regarding IE, even if it's remastered in 4K, won't it still look ... harsh? I'm not sure it's the type of movie worth uprgrading to 4K for.

A couple things...

Like you said, it will always look harsh because that's the way it's supposed to look. A remaster, in 4k, should simply make it look even more like itself, which may mean bringing out more of the warts of the low-res source. For what it's worth, INLAND EMPIRE doesn't exactly look "better" on Blu-ray than it does on DVD--it's still the same smeary low-res digital film--but the Blu-ray is unquestionably superior regardless due to its increased storage capacity and bitrates, both uglier and more beautiful, more detailed without losing the murky qualities inherent in the cinematography. (I have both the German and UK Blu-rays of INLAND EMPIRE, and haven't watched it on DVD in many years.)

Secondly, Criterion has been very slow to release actual 4k UHD Blu-rays, with many of the films restored in 4k still only receiving a Blu-ray release rather than a real 4k release. Although I believe that due to their relationship with Lynch and the release of Mulholland Drive on actual 4k UHD Blu-ray, Lost Highway will likely release on 4K UHD Blu-ray, there is a chance that INLAND EMPIRE is only released on regular Blu-ray, anyway.

[Jonah]

Good point. Strange that people are so quick to believe he’s being genuine in his initial denial but still think he’s lying about the rest of it. Doesn’t it make just as much (or more) sense that he’s lying the whole time?

I think people are clinging to hope. I don't know if it's false hope or not - but I'm highly doubtful and skeptical. I'll see what the line-up is like. I imagine even if nothing is announced then there will still be a lot of "but they're saving it to keep it as a surprise" type of posts. That's the trouble with rumours like this - they never end, they just change to fit the current feeling. So even with Lynch's denial, now everyone is convinced he's lying. If nothing is announced in the Cannes line-up, then it's they're holding it back as a surprise. But where does this end? If nothing is screened at Cannes does it become "it wasn't ready"/"it was watched in secret by people who signed strict NDAs" before it's then "there's still a project but it's not at Cannes".

I'm all for wanting to believe there is a new project in development but at some point we may have to just take them at their word when Sabrina says he's working on his art and Lynch himself says he has no project at Cannes. Nevertheless, some of these posts have me half-convinced that he might be playing around - but I can't say I'm optimistic. I'll give this until the announcement from Cannes, then I'm officially out on this rumour. Still hoping for a new project one day, especially if it's more TP.

[johndaker]

I had no idea Laura Dern was in these, yeah these could be it. (...) Either of these would fit Lynch knowing about a film in Cannes, particularly as EP, he would probably have a hand in getting a good word in with the Cannes committees.

Even if that's the case, and I agree it could be, he's still lying: "But there is something new, but it's not mine. I don't know whose it is. They say there's something new at Cannes, and they don't say whose it is, and some people thought it was my film, but it's not. So we'll wait and see, and see whose it is."

Good point. Strange that people are so quick to believe he’s being genuine in his initial denial but still think he’s lying about the rest of it. Doesn’t it make just as much (or more) sense that he’s lying the whole time?

I think Lynch really doesn't like to lie or to dissimulate in any way, and doing so doesn't come easily to him. Think of the time when he was asked at an event whether TP would ever return, just days before TP S3 was first announced. He could have said "No, I'm not working on TP and don't have any plans to," but he didn't—IIRC he basically said "I can't say anything about that" and used the exact same phrase, "Wait and see."

If he does have knowledge of a secret project but didn't direct it himself, the only part of this EW quote that's remotely different from the incident I just mentioned is when he says, "I don't know whose it is." Everything else in that quote sounds very much like he does know about it.

[Mr. Reindeer]

Yeah, I saw INLAND in 4K yesterday, and it was very much in line with LateReg’s description. Background details like flowers and trees are still blurry, all the jagged digital edges are still there. But less crushed blacks, more balance and nuance, and some great detail in all those extreme closeups on faces that really adds to the performances. But yeah, at the end of the day, it’s always going to kinda look the way it looks.

[Ickles]

I'm still trying to keep hope alive but given everything we know so far I'm leaning towards it being far more likely that there's a film debuting at Cannes that Lynch is involved with in some way but not as the director/sole creative force. Something like "Nadja" where he was an Executive Producer and acted in it but it wasn't his film. That would line up with the relative implausibility he would've been able to shoot a full length feature film over the pandemic in secret, some signals getting crossed with sources adjacent to Cannes that haven't seen the film but saw Lynch's name attached to it and the wording of Lynch's denials. I'm crossing my fingers it's all one big ruse and there will be a new Lynch film for the world as soon as a month from now but if I had to put money on an outcome it would be him producing and/or acting in a film at Cannes instead.

[Jonah]

I'm still trying to keep hope alive but given everything we know so far I'm leaning towards it being far more likely that there's a film debuting at Cannes that Lynch is involved with in some way but not as the director/sole creative force. Something like "Nadja" where he was an Executive Producer and acted in it but it wasn't his film. That would line up with the relative implausibility he would've been able to shoot a full length feature film over the pandemic in secret, some signals getting crossed with sources adjacent to Cannes that haven't seen the film but saw Lynch's name attached to it and the wording of Lynch's denials. I'm crossing my fingers it's all one big ruse and there will be a new Lynch film for the world as soon as a month from now but if I had to put money on an outcome it would be him producing and/or acting in a film at Cannes instead.

I'm still hopeful too (even if doubtful) but what you say sounds like the most plausible outcome to me (if there's anything involving him at all) and there's already a few films mentioned earlier that fits this description - plus there could be another one we don't know about.

The only parts that don't fit is Lynch saying he doesn't know whose it is - and the tweet that said "some people doubt it exists" (but that was probably just the guy getting his wires crossed and assuming it was Wistera; a lot of people when they hear a new Lynch project - even if it's just a project with a cameo or EP role from him - could mistakenly now assume it's based on the other rumours as they've been going on for years, so quite easy to see something Lynch-related and jump to that conclusion especially if there's not a clear announcement).