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January 02, 2007
David Lynch In Texas
I can't imagine a better place to watch Inland Empire than at the historic Paramount Theater in Austin, which is where it will be screening on January 24th, with David Lynch in attendance. You can put money on my presence there. Tickets go on sale to Austin Film Society members this Friday, so if you haven't joined already, now might be a good time (your membership fee will go towards outstanding services such various screening series, filmmaking workshops, the new Director of Artist Services's salary and, of course, the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund).
On a related note, my old friend Adam gave me a copy of Lynch's new book, Catching The Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, And Creativity for Christmas. Anyone who's read an interview with Lynch over the past year will be familiar with much of the material in this volume, which is all about the link between creativity and the subconscious, and the use of transcendental meditation to bridge whatever gap might exist between the two. I remember being surprised and a bit disconcerted when, a few years ago, Lynch suddenly began to evangelize his faith in transcendental meditation, but here he eases into the concept a bit more smoothly, and intertwines his work and his spiritual beliefs into one big membranous process. With his distinctively charming vernacular, his writing straddles the gray area between Eastern philosophy and Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts; still, his straightforward sincerity really sells his ideas - as do passages like this one, about the inception of Eraserhead:
"Eraserhead was growing in a certain way, and I didn't know what it meant. I was looking for a key to unlock what these sequences were saying. Of course, I understood some of it; but I didn't know the thing that just pulled it all together. And it was a struggle. So I got out my Bible and I started reading. And one day, I read a sequence. And I closed the Bible, because that was it; that was it. And then I saw the thing as a whole. And it fulfilled this vision for me, 100 percent.I don't think I'll ever say what that sentence was."
Posted by David Lowery at January 2, 2007 02:57 PM
Comments
Thanks for the plug, David, but a small correction... I'm the new "Director of Artist Services," not the "Artistic Director" - that title belongs, and always will belong to Mr. Linklater.
You could bet money on my presence at Inland Empire, too, but you'd lose it cause I'm gonna be up at Sundance instead.
Posted by: Bryan P at January 2, 2007 04:36 PM
Ah! Correction made.
I decided to hold off on the Sundance this year after all. Some friends rented a condo up there, and it was tempting to accept their invitation to join them for a few days, but I've got too much work to do to justify it. I've got to make some sort of attempt to get my priorities in order.
Posted by: Ghostboy at January 2, 2007 04:44 PM
you lucky dog. hope your 2nd viewing helps out. i know it did for me.
i just got his book from work, hoping to squeeze in time here and there to go through it..
Posted by: brad at January 3, 2007 12:14 AM
Uh oh...
Posted by: Ghostboy at January 3, 2007 12:24 AM
I think the tickets actually go on sale on Saturday. I think I remember the initial email saying the 5th, but the site says "Tickets go on sale to AFS members Jan. 6" now.
Either way, definitely getting my ticket the minute I can.
Are you going to get Orchestra seats? I think I am.
See you there.
Posted by: Regularkarate at January 3, 2007 12:30 PM
Yeah, I noticed the change. We're going to come down to Austin on Friday so we can pick them up as soon as they go on sale Saturday morning. And I'm definitely getting orchestra seats. Do you want me to give you a call? We're probably going to go get breakfast first.
Posted by: Ghostboy at January 3, 2007 01:37 PM
Yeah, give me a call.
Do we purchase the tickets at the Paramount? I kind of thought the presale would be through the AFS website.
Posted by: Regularkarate at January 3, 2007 07:44 PM
No, it's only through the Paramount box office, which opens at noon on Saturday.
I'm starting to feel like a dork all of a sudden...
Posted by: Ghostboy at January 3, 2007 08:22 PM