David Lynch
Surrealist filmmaker David Lynch has been nominated for three Oscars and has won awards at the Cannes and Venice film festivals.
Fast Facts
- Born: January 20, 1946 in Missoula, Montana
- Winner of two Cesar Awards
- 1992: Time Magazine's "Most Influential Filmmaker"
- Has been married three times
- Proponent of Transcendental Meditation
- Frequently casts Laura Dern and Kyle MacLachlan
- Co-created Twin Peaks
Art and Early Films
Lynch enrolled in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts in 1966 and created abstract and geometric art. He purchased his first camera in 1967 and made a series of short films now available on The Short Films of David Lynch DVD.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1971 he began planning Eraserhead at the American Film Institute. The film was finished and released in 1977. Mel Brooks was impressed with Eraserhead and hired Lynch to film The Elephant Man, for which he earned his first Oscar nomination.
1980s and Beyond
Since The Elephant Man, Lynch has made a series of critically acclaimed films, including Blue Velvet, The Straight Story and Mulholland Drive. His 2006 film, Inland Empire, was met with mixed reviews based on its labyrinthine plot and three-hour length. It is the first of Lynch's films shot entirely with a digital camera.
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