He’s one of the most iconic filmmakers out there, but decades of smoking have taken their toll on the great David Lynch. The director of cinematic classics like “Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Velvet” and creator of “Twin Peaks” has revealed he’s seriously struggling with his own health issues. Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema from smoking in 2020 and, in a new interview with , says he’s now permanently houseebound.
He can’t go out and can only walk short distances. Additionally he needs an oxygen tank carried with him at all times. He says he continued smoking for another two years after the diagnosis before he finally realised it was either quit “die in a week”.
In terms of a filmmaking future, the 78-year-old says he’s “open to trying to direct remotely in the future.” He says smoking was a crucial aspect of his creative process and while it was a “big price to pay,” he says: “I don’t regret it. It was important to me.
I wish what every addict wishes for: that what we love is good for us.” In 2019, Lynch was supposed to shoot a mysterious project which had Naomi Watts and Laura Dern rumored to star and was going to run for multiple episodes on Netflix. It was scrapped in pre-production.
His last work was helming the entire run of 2017’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” for Showtime which is widely considered as much a masterpiece as his best works..