Hollywood Pays Tribute To David Lynch: Ron Howard, Sting, Judd Apatow & Others Remember

Refresh for updates… Director Ron Howard praised his fearlessness, Mulholland Drive star Lee Grant called him “a one of a kind artist,” and director James Gunn cites him as a major inspiration: David Lynch is being remembered today for the unique vision and unforgettable works of art he brought to Hollywood.

Lynch’s family announced today that he had died at age 78.

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“In the early ’90s the production manager of a film I was working on built part of our shooting schedule around the broadcast of a TV show the crew refused to miss,” writes Grant. “The show was Twin Peaks. I became fascinated by David Lynch’s dreamscapes along with everyone else on the film.

“Years later,” she continues, “when offered the chance to work with him for a day, I jumped at the opportunity to see how a mind like that directed. It was a day on Mulholland Drive. He was, in actuality, a one of a kind artist.”

Howard writes on X that Lynch was “a gracious man and fearless artist who followed his heart & soul and proved that radical experimentation could yield unforgettable cinema.”

DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter issued the following statement:

“There is simply no one like David. He was a visionary at his core – elevating visual storytelling in film and television to a whole new level, inspiring so many directors to take risks and see new possibilities. He took a chance on me as a young director just starting out when I joined him on Twin Peaks in the early 1990s, transforming my life, and I will be forever grateful for having known him. In every interaction, David was so in the moment of life, and I can’t help but think of a story that made me see the world differently. In one of David’s early episodes of Twin Peaks, there’s a scene in a bank vault with Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean and there’s a moose head lying in the middle of the table. No one ever refers to it; it’s just there and it makes the scene. I asked David how he got the idea to put that moose head on the table. He looked at me quizzically and said, ‘It was there.’ The set dresser was going to hang it on the wall, but David saw it lying on the table and said, ‘Leave the moose head.’ Something cracked open for me, as much as you plan, be sure you are open to life, be sure you are open to the moose head on the table, don’t miss what’s right in front of you. His ability to see the magic that exists when others did not, made him one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I join so many directors who have been profoundly impacted by David’s life and work in mourning his loss today.”

Read on for more reactions. Deadline will update this post as additional tributes come in.

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