Nicolas Cage leads tributes to ‘singular genius’ David Lynch after death aged 78
Cage said he ‘never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch’.
Wild At Heart actor Nicolas Cage has paid tribute to “singular genius” film director David Lynch, after his death aged 78.
The director, known for the surreal TV series Twin Peaks and films such as Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, died on Thursday. His family confirmed the news on his official Facebook page.
In a statement, Cage said: “David was a singular genius in cinema, one of the greatest artists of this or any time.
“He was brave, brilliant, and a maverick with a joyful sense of humour.
“I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold.”
In Lynch’s 1990 road trip film, Cage, 61, plays the Elvis-like Sailor, as he reunites with love interest Lula, played by Laura Dern, after leaving prison, before they decide to run away to California, breaking Sailor’s parole.
The film netted the director the 1990 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or.
The post by Lynch’s family read: “It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch.
“We would appreciate some privacy at this time.
“There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole’.
“It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
Actor Kyle MacLachlan, 65, a frequent collaborator with Lynch, who starred in Twin Peaks, paid tribute to the director on Instagram.
He said: “42 years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn’t recognise. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision.
“What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to.
“Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met.”
He said the director was “in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human”.
He continued: “While the world has lost a remarkable artist, I’ve lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own.
“I can see him now, standing up to greet me in his backyard, with a warm smile and big hug and that Great Plains honk of a voice. We’d talk coffee, the joy of the unexpected, the beauty of the world, and laugh.
“His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other.
“I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.
“David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.”
Apollo 13 director Ron Howard said in a post on X: “RIPDavidLynch, a gracious man and fearless artist, who followed his heart and soul, and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”
The US director’s work was known for its dreamlike, surreal quality. His films included The Elephant Man (1980), Wild At Heart (1990) and Mulholland Drive (2001).
Born in Missoula, Montana, Lynch began a career in painting before switching to making short films during the 1960s.
In 1977, he made his first feature-length film, Eraserhead, a black and white, surrealist body horror which follows Henry Spencer as he navigates a strange and gloomy industrial landscape filled with characters such as The Lady In The Radiator.
Major success came in the 1980s with the release of The Elephant Man, loosely based on the life of Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man who lived in London in the late 19th century, and Blue Velvet, a neo-noir mystery thriller.
Blue Velvet launched Lynch into the mainstream but prompted controversy with its violent and sexual content.
Lynch achieved worldwide stardom with the release of Twin Peaks, co-created with Mark Frost, in 1990, running until 1991 with its initial two series.
It the story of Dale Cooper, an eccentric FBI agent who visits a quaint town to investigate the murder of 17-year-old Laura Palmer.
He returned to develop and write Twin Peaks: The Return, released in 2017.
Another career milestone was Mulholland Drive, a non-linear tale showing the dark side of Hollywood which earned him the best director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.
His other directing credits included being the first director to adapt Frank Herbert’s novel Dune in 1984, 1997’s Lost Highway, 1999’s The Straight Story and 2006’s Inland Empire.
Billy Corgan, lead singer of alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins, who contributed the song Eye to the Lost Highway soundtrack, said he was “truly saddened” by the news in a post on X.
He said: “Working with him was like a dream out of one of his movies, and I treasure the times I got to speak with him and hear first-hand his vision for a film.
“I truly encourage anyone who loves movies and television to watch all that David produced. He was a true artist, through and through.”
Lynch had been Oscar-nominated four times, including two nods for The Elephant Man for directing and adapted screenplay, and two more directing nominations for Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive.
In 2019 he received an honorary Academy Award which recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry but have not won an Oscar.
Lynch was a heavy smoker and developed the lung condition emphysema, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by damage to the air sacs in the lungs.
Despite the condition, he vowed he would “never retire” in a post last year.
Lynch also made a foray into music, releasing three of his own studio albums, working with Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O and Swedish singer Lykke Li.
He also practised transcendental meditation, founding The David Lynch Foundation For Consciousness-Based Education And World Peace in 2005.
As a child, the director moved around often with his family and found he had an early gift for visual arts and a passion for travel, which led to his enrolment in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the beginning of a 10-year apprenticeship as a maker of short movies.
His death came just days before his 79th birthday, which would have been on January 20.
