David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive should have been a series adapted from Twin Peaks

Mark Frost, the co-creator of Twin Peaks, returned in spring 2020 to the genesis of this aborted spin-off, centered on the character of Audrey Horne. We are sharing his words again to wait until the rebroadcast of David Lynch’s cult film, this evening on Arte.

Twin Peaks And Mulholland Drive do not have just David Lynch in common. These two monuments of the big and small screen are in fact more linked than one might think. Originally, Mulholland Drive – considered to this day one of the best films of all time – was supposed to be a series. To be more precise, a spin-off of Twin Peaks centered on the character of the enigmatic Audrey Horne, played by Sherilyn Fenn. The idea came to David Lynch and Mark Frost, the co-creator of the show, during the filming of the series. The project was finally forgotten before resurfacing a few years later in the form of a film, with Naomi Watts in the lead role – instead of Fenn, therefore.

If the story is not new, Mark Frost returned in more detail to this aborted project in the biography Conversations With Mark Frost by author David Bushman, published in spring 2020.

“I lived on Mulholland Drive at the time and thought it was a great title (for the series). Our idea was to create a spin-off based on the character of Audrey and release her into Hollywood, in a neo-noir series. We discussed it and then it fell through. Six years later, I got wind that this project was going to be a proposed pilot at ABC.”

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For this pilot, Lynch used the plot of the aborted spin-off of Twin Peaks by making some modifications to the scenario, particularly in terms of the characters, so that the project is not linked to the series. When Mulholland Drive was released in 2001, the film was a colossal and immediate success.

“I remember Sherilyn really wanted to do that at the time, admits Mark Frost. She had a lot of ambition, and we probably could have made a series around her character. I’m not sure how we got from this project to a pilot without her.”

The filmmaker adds that after the two seasons of Twin Peaksno one should have wanted a spin-off of the series, and that is probably why David Lynch decided to make it an independent project. “I wasn’t involved in the project and, frankly, I needed a break from David Lynch.”he adds.

25 years later (that’s a hell of a long break), the two friends finally met again for season 3 of the legendary series, Twin Peaks: The Return. With Sherilyn Fenn in the role of Audrey, by the way.

Mark Frost was very saddened by the death of David Lynch, discussing their creative relationship with Deadline in these terms:

“My friend and my brother, my creative partner for almost forty years, a singular artist and an astonishing personality. I loved him and I will forever keep in my heart and in my soul our laughter and our common love for the medium that ‘he mastered it as few have done.’

He also posted this message on his Blue Sky account, before sharing multiple tributes from personalities who worked alongside the filmmaker, or from fans sharing their admiration for his work:

“Thank you all for your kind memories on this terrible day. The words will come later. For now, I only have feelings. Grieve and remember him, but don’t forget to party too. We will never see his image again. The man from elsewhere has returned home.

Finally note that in addition to this programming of Mulholland Drivethe channel also pays tribute to the filmmaker via a new documentary by Stéphane Guez. A portrait in the form of an investigation which aims to decipher the mysteries of his work. Mission impossible for an artist who has never stopped refuse to provide explanations on his films and series? David Lynch, an enigma in Hollywood will be visible for free on the channel’s platform until March 16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9jSfdyspg

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