"There is no need for medicine. I am not in pain."

Right, the film is at fault here, whereas the cheap tie-in novelization is what should be considered canon.

Originally, Coop was supposed to be the agent in Deer Meadow for the first half of FWWM. But unlike in books, actor involvement can cause rewrites. Kyle wanted less screen time, Chet Desmond was born. New character, new mysteries.  

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

I think the FWWM version is better, and a perfect choice. I love Chet Desmond. It makes perfect sense to me that Cooper takes over Desmond's case after he disappears. I can't even imagine Cooper in the Deer Meadow sheriff's office. There's a certain stoicism to the Desmond character that really works for the environment he finds himself in. Every time I watch FWWM, I want the Deer Meadow segment to go on and on. It ends after only 40 minutes or so, doesn't it? There's something hypnotic about the filth and drearyness of the place. Carl Rodd too. The despair of his voice when he talks about "more shit I gotta do now". That part is really unlike anything I've ever seen in film history.

Deer Meadow is no Twin Peaks. Desmond is no Cooper. And that's the way it should be, at least to me.

To Colin: As you can imagine, I disagree strongly.

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

Well said.

Extremely well said!

LogicHat and ThisIsTheGirl, I wasn't suggesting that one is 'right' and the other 'wrong' - personally, FWWM is my favourite Lynch film - merely that because I'd read the book first it always jars that events are different in the film. I understand perfectly that actor involvement changes things - otherwise Cooper and Audrey would have got it on, allegedly - but I was just trying to put across my thoughts and at the same time raise what I felt could be an interesting topic of discussion. If I was wrong about that, I apologise.

"There is no need for medicine. I am not in pain."

No need to apologize, it's all interpretation anyways.

I've heard of the FWWM dream theory, but it seems to cheapen the importance of those scenes. It's not like in Mulholland Drive, where the dream twist made us say "So that's why that happened". This theory seems more like, "Chet Desmond is no more important than something Coop thought up in his sleep".

Then again, Chet's never mentioned again in the timeline of the show, so...

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

The sound wind makes through the pines. The sentience of animals. What we fear and what lies beyond the darkness.

Okay, the idea of that just seriously blew my mind. I've somehow managed to have never heard of or considered that theory before, as far as I can remember...

Yes! Mine too, but now I can't watch it and think "Desmond isn't real."  It even explains the Jeffries scene to make MUCH more sense (unfortunately, I don't have my copy at my new home so I can't summarize it.)

But yeah.  Desmond's character was originally scripted as Cooper, but when Kyle backed out of the role, minor tweaking was done... All in all, it works. 

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

The sound wind makes through the pines. The sentience of animals. What we fear and what lies beyond the darkness.

Maybe she'll grow wings and join the circus.

There's more than this, but I have to get back to work.  Enjoy: 

From John Thorne’s Dreams of Deer Meadow, WIP 60 Aug 2002

(Paraphrased and quoted with respect)

Vision and Revision

Lynch/Engels Goal: FWWM was intended to be about the Dale Cooper investigation, BOB and Mike, and other characters from the show.

FWWM had to be self contained and work within the framework of established facts of events prior to the series.  It had to be integrated into the Laura Palmer story without adding too much new storyline/resolution.

The investigation allowed Cooper to be in the film and part of Laura’s living world (and afterlife,) just as the TV show hinted in ep 2009 that they shared a dream that would trigger his intuition, and he would send an alarm to Laura (in which she receives his warning,) and he comforts her/shepherd her in the Red Room.

Problems:  this would have been three hours long- Kyle’s refusal to commit to his time also led to revisions.  It was implied in the show that Cooper investigated the Banks murder, and The Autobiography if FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper- by sometimes Peaks script writer Scott Frost- has Cooper examining her body with a partner, meeting Cable, etc.  With so few Cooper scenes, so why bother with the prologue?

The first 30 min and Laura’s story feel separate, but….

The sound wind makes through the pines. The sentience of animals. What we fear and what lies beyond the darkness.

I wasn't really commenting on what you wrote, so there's no need to apologise. I think Logic was mainly responding to what colin789 wrote.....I certainly was

Certainly an interesting theory.

I would love to see the "original script" that is referenced in the WIP article, though.

Does anyone have a copy of it?

The point is, if the "original script" does contain the information, context, as described in the article and the differences from the "shooting script", it does make this theory seem plausible.

It is hard to accept this theory without having the "original script" to verify the author's assumptions and assertions.

It's all over the internet.  By original, he meant that shooting script.

http://corky.net/scripts/fwwm.html 

No, this is not the script being referenced.

He refers to an "original script" that does not mention the Blue Rose and does not include Agent Desmond, but has Cooper with Desmond's lines.

This is not the widely circulated version.