David Lynch isn’t sure whether he will be able to direct again after being diagnosed with emphysema.
Lynch, 78, got the disease from “smoking for so long,” telling Sight & Sound in an interview published on Thursday, August 1, I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.”
The acclaimed director of Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet revealed he has since stopped smoking.
“Smoking was something that I absolutely loved, but in the end, it bit me,” he noted. “It was part of the art life for me: the tobacco and the smell of it, and lighting things and smoking and going back and sitting back and having a smoke and looking at your work, or thinking about things.”
Lynch added: “Nothing like it in this world is so beautiful. Meanwhile, it’s killing me. So I had to quit.”
The side effects of the illness have prevented Lynch from being able to work on more projects. Lynch isn’t ruling out directing altogether but his inability to leave his home leaves that up in the air.
“I like to be amongst the things and get ideas there. But I would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it,” he said before referencing an animated project he pitched to Netflix called Snootworld.
The streaming service ultimately passed on Snootworld but Lynch still hopes to at least bring his unproduced 2010 screenplay Antelope Don’t Run No More to life.
Before taking a break due to health issues, Lynch’s most recent major project was the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks for Showtime. The original series, which ran from 1990 to 1991, followed an investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington.
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Twin Peaks developed a cult following after its brief run on ABC which resulted in the 1992 prequel feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Lynch subsequently returned to the Twin Peaks world with Twin Peaks: The Return.
Kyle MacLachlan, Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick, Lee and David Duchovny were just some of the cast members from the OG series that returned for the revival. There were also plenty of star-studded appearances from Laura Dern, Michael Cera, Richard Chamberlain, Trent Reznor, Jessica Szohr and Amanda Seyfried.
In addition to the Twin Peaks franchise, Lynch is well-known for directing critically acclaimed movies such as Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive.