"Did they scoff the whole damn Smörgåsbord?" (Audrey) 

"Gimme a donut!" (Coop)

On DL and comedy, I think he's best at sneaking dry/dark humor into otherwise dramatic films, like he did in WAH and MD... even the Straight Story... as opposed to On the Air, which didn't work as well.  

Being an outwardly happy and peaceful person, I believe the tone and themes of his work are cathartic- exploring confusion, discomfort and other negative emotions.  

The themes you speak of are infinite reservoirs for artists such as Lynch.

In regards to entering other genres, I think it's fair to say that Lynch's films defy genres. They've always mixed genres together - comedy, drama, horror, action, etc. I've seen IE, and let me say that the first 30 - 45 minutes are hilarious.  The other 2 1/2 hours are...well...terrifyingly gorgeous.

This would look good on your wall.

-Noah- 

DL has written scripts for comedy films, but for one reason or another, they never got made into films. "Dream of the Bovine" was about 3 cows who become people, but they carry on behaving in a bovine way, eg, watching cars drive past.

"One Saliva Bubble" was about a computer that emits a bubble of saliva which floats into the sky, then it explodes, drenhcing everyone. This has the effect of making everyone's behaviour change. Some people believe they are Chinese gymnasts, etc.

I think he even wanted Steve Martin to appear in one of his films!

But I agree with the other people on the forum that certain themes are timeless and you can't exhaust them, eg, love, death... In fantastic literature, there are only a few basic themes: the double, time travel, the work-within-a-work (eg, in Hamlet, there is a play within a play). It's really difficult to think of completely new ideas. There are only a few basic ideas out there, and hundreds of novels and films already exist. Imagine how difficult it would be to come up with a completely new idea, that no one had ever thought of before!

In relation to Being John Malkovich, I once heard that there are only 16 basic stories used in Hollywood, but Being John Malkovich is story no 17.

What's interesting is that DL, though he hasn't created this genre, made it his over the course of the last 30 years.

Has anyone else seen I Know Who Killed Me? Tell me I'm not imagining the heavy use of Lynch motifs, and the motifs that when used in conjunction scream Lynch influence.. May contain spoilers:

* The title. In TP Laura says "my father killed me" and Cooper says, "I know who killed Laura Palmer."

* Blue roses all over the place. (The first blue rose is followed by a distinctly theme from MD music cue.)

* Owls all over the place.

* Opens with dead teenager (like TP) and a serial killer on the loose. The killer uses blue glass as a cutting tool, which recalls the blue dye in Ronnette's IV.

* A cop comes into the classroom to tell the teacher. Same shots as the same scene in the TP pilot, similar reaction from the teacher (instead of "There'll be an announcement" she says " X's body has been found. Don't ask me for more information, I don't have any.")

* The mystery is solved through instinct and visions (MD, TP etc)

* Theme of twins/dopplegangerd/identity shift/amnesia all rolled into one (Lynch didn't invent this by any means, but he uses them a whole damn lot. Even the nods to Kafka and Hitchcock can be considered Lynch hallmarks.)

* Blue rag in the mouth (like BV. This is drawn attention to a second time by making it the only color in a b&w scene.)

* Deformity/Amputation/severed body parts (BV, The Amputee, Elephant Man etc etc.)

* The benign yet suspicious father whose questionable morals regarding his wife and daughter play a central role in the mystery. (TP. He even seems to be imitating Leland in certain scenes.)

And for the cherry on top, Bonnie Aarons (the Winkie's bum from MD) is the brothel madam

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!