David Lynch (Jan 20, 1946-Jan 16, 2025) taught me two practices for remaining in a neutral state in the midst of chaos. These habits, meditation and masturbation, are 100% free and allow us to retain some degree of control over what we can—namely our own mental health. In honor of his passing, I am sharing an excerpt from a previously paywalled piece about David, including a recorded conversation between us about dreams, meditation, Fellini and Los Angeles.
“My mom said your dad’s a pornographer,” my then-BFF dropped on me at recess. “She said I’m not allowed to go over to your house after school anymore.” I was 13 and my dad, the alleged pornographer, had taken us a few days prior to an editing room to watch a rough-cut screening of a movie he was working on, Wild At Heart (1990) directed by David Lynch, starring Nicholas Cage & Laura Dern.
At the time, the MPA (Motion Picture Association) board was considering giving the film an X rating, for extreme violence and (in retrospect, tame) sex, which would have made a domestic theatrical release nearly impossible outside of porn theaters. So my dad and David were reviewing a cut that could pass for an “R” …read more >
