Much has been written about David Lynch and his films, but The Dreamer's Path approaches his canon from a distinctive angle, seeking to unpack and assay the sum of Lynch's work as an on-screen performer and, by extension, where and how this unique and heretofore unexplored part of his enormous creative output intersects with his broader embrace of "the art life."
For someone not generally thought of as an actor, Lynch managed to put his inimitable stamp on a memorable collection of characters who each, in their own way, fed his idiosyncratic off-screen persona-from 1988's Zelly and Me (recounted here in detail by Isabella Rossellini and writer-director Tina Rathborne) and television's Louie to the tenderhearted Lucky and The Fabelmans.
All of these projects and more-including Lynch's renowned weather reports, plus curios like The Black Ghiandola-receive loving, detailed tribute, in addition to Lynch's voice work in animated efforts like The Cleveland Show and his own DumbLand. Naturally, centerpiece examination is also afforded Lynch's portrayal of FBI Regional Bureau Chief (and later Deputy Director) Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks-both in the trailblazing run of the original series and its striking, equally complex 2017 return. In plumbing the central question, "We are like the dreamer who dreams, and then lives inside the dream-but who is the dreamer?" this work explores the significance of Lynch stepping so deeply inside a world of his cocreation and what that says both about him and Twin Peaks as a whole.
Commingling analysis and scholarship with dozens of new interviews and warm first-person reminiscences from key collaborators and facilitators of these works, The Dreamer's Path is a one-of-a-kind look at a one-of-a-kind artistic talent and the breadth and depth of his lasting legacy.
The Dreamer's Path interviewees (62 quoted are listed here below; 12 additional persons either on background and/or quoted anonymously per their request are not on this list)
Jay Aaseng
Michael Almereyda
Michael Barile
Eric Bassett
Trevor Beattie
Kim Bendheim
Kevin Biggins
Scott Billups
John Byrum
Louis C.K.
Chrystabell
Erik Crary
Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro
George Dewey
Duwayne Dunham
Robert Engels
Ruurd Fenenga
Flying Lotus
Edward Gelbinovich
Lesli Linka Glatter
Cori Glazer
Heather Graham
Seth Green
Catherine Hardwicke
Mike Henry
Jan Hoag
Richard Hoover
Michael Horse
Tim Hunter
Jesse Johnson
Adele Jones
Robert Knepper
Ilia Korobkov
Gabriel LaBelle
Petr Laden
Aaron Lee
Ron Livingston
Jennifer Lynch
John Carroll Lynch
Karl Makinen
Mike Malone
James Morrison
Polina Nikiforova
Michael Ontkean
Harley Peyton
Mindy Ramaker
Tina Rathborne
Peggy Reavey
Scott Ressler
Kimmy Robertson
Jose Rosete
Isabella Rossellini
Eli Roth
Jonathan Sanger
Tom Sheppard
Heaven Stellar (aka Kate Romero)
Sabrina Sutherland
Mélita Toscan du Plantier
Andreia Vigo
Jake Wardle
Andrea Watrouse (aka Andrea Leal)
Nae Yuuki
