For film composer Danny Elfman, the late director David Lynch was a genius.
Film composer Danny Elfman there has been a wave of obituaries for the deceased David Lynch connected.
He shared his thoughts and feelings in a post on social media. “What can I say? His death is a monumental loss for me that I find difficult to put into words,” wrote Danny Elfman. “I’m still in complete shock.”
This is how Danny Elfman found David Lynch
He also shared musician a reminder of David Lynch’s beginnings in the film business. “My mind suddenly goes back to 1977. That’s when my friend Matthew Bright and I, at a long-defunct film festival in Los Angeles called Filmex, heard about a midnight premiere of a must-see underground film called Eraserhead must. Of course we went. If I remember correctly, the hall was well filled, but not overcrowded. When the film ended, it was almost empty because a lot of people had left.”
However, Danny Elfman had a different experience: “It was a revelation for my friend and I. It was captivating…amazing…how many adjectives can I use here…to describe my reaction to this unique, visually stunning, frightening, funny and completely original film. From that moment on, I couldn’t wait to see what this crazy young director would come up with next. And he didn’t disappoint me.”
Film composer with a “Twin Peaks” addiction
The film composer, sometimes known for his long-standing collaboration with Tim Burton, shared that he loved all of David Lynch’s films – something he couldn’t say about many directors. In his text he particularly highlighted “the stark emotional and visual contrast between ‘Elephant Man’ and the iconic and almost perfect ‘Blue Velvet'”. He must have seen the latter a dozen times. He also praised the collaboration with composer Angelo Badalamenti. He shared another anecdote about the “Twin Peaks” series: When he was on tour with his former band Oingo Boingo during its run, someone had to record new episodes for Danny Elfman in every hotel and send them to him. It is therefore hardly surprising that Lynch was crowned a “genius”.
David Lynch died on January 16th, a few days before his 79th birthday. The director, born in 1946, was, among other things, the creator of “Twin Peaks” (1990-91, 2017), the first film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” (1984) and films such as “Eraserhead” (1977) mentioned by Danny Elfman. and “Blue Velvet” (1986) or “Mulholland Drive” (2001).