David Lynch has refuted the idea that he has retired after a recent interview in which he said he was ‘unlikely’ to ever direct again.
The acclaimed director, who was behind Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and the original Dune, opened up about his health explaining that he was diagnosed with emphysema.
He revealed that he is unable to leave the house and can no longer walk long distances without losing his breath which could affect his filmmaking.
The condition affects the air sacs in the lungs, with symptoms including shortness of breath, blue or grey lips or fingernails due to exertion, and not being ‘mentally alert’.
Now, he has come out with a another statement clarifying he has no intention of retiring in a new post on X.
He wrote: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen. Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking. I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco – the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them – but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema.’
Then added that he ‘quit smoking’ two years ago and recent tests showed that, emphysema aside, he was ‘in excellent shape.’
The 78-year-old concluded: I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire. I want you all to know that I really appreciate your concern. Love, David.’
The statement comes after he told Sight & Sound Magazine, via the Independent: ‘I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. It would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.
Discussing his illness, he said that he cannot ‘go out’ over fears he’ll get Covid, and is only able to ‘walk a short distance’ before he runs ‘out of oxygen’.
According to the article, as a result of the illness, he is currently unsure whether he will ever direct again, but suggested that he could work remotely.
‘I would do it remotely if it comes to it,’ he continued, before conceding: ‘I wouldn’t like that so much.’
‘Well, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we remain hopeful,’ he added of plans for his 2010 screenplay Antelope Don’t Run No More.
According to the Mayo Clinic, emphysema is a lung condition which damages the air sacs in the lungs, causing them to weaken and rupture – creating large air spaces and trapping old air, ‘leaving no room for fresh, oxygen-rich air to enter’.
It is also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is mainly caused by smoking, exposure to chemical fumes, dust and air pollution.
Sufferers are more likely to develop heart problems and a collapsed lung – treatment ‘ may slow the progression of COPD, but it can’t reverse the damage’.
David has worked in Hollywood for decades, and has been behind the camera for some of the biggest films in cinema, including the Elephant Man, Eraserhead and Blue Velvet.
He has landed three Oscar nominations for best director, and won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1990 for Wild At Heart.
However, one particular project still fills the filmmaker with regret, as he branded the 1984 flick Dune a ‘total failure’ and a ‘heartache’.
As such, he vowed that he had no interest in seeing Denis Villeneuve’s version of the story, which is based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel.
Despite the movie receiving critical acclaim and commercial success, with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya leading the star-studded cast, David insisted that he would not be joining in the fun.
‘I have zero interest in Dune … it was a heartache for me. It was a failure and I didn’t have final cut,’ he previously told the Hollywood Reporter.
‘I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much – but it was a total failure for me.’
Clarifying if he would be sitting through Denis’ masterpiece, he added: ‘I said I’ve got zero interest.’
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