David Lynch didn’t understand Mulholland Drive scenes, says Justin Theroux

David Lynch

Theroux starred alongside Naomi Watts in the director’s 2001 movie.

Justin Theroux reveals that even director David Lynch didn’t understand some of the scenes and storylines in his 2001 neo-noir film Mulholland Drive. Theroux plays a director called Adam Kesher in the surrealist movie.

Theroux’s comments were made in a new interview with IndieWire. When asked about his experiences making the film alongside the famed director, Theroux offered new insight into Lynch’s approach. “He’s a total outlier because he doesn’t answer your questions,” said Theroux on Lynch, who he also worked with on movie Inland Empire. “[On] the first couple days of Mulholland Drive, I was course peppering him with a million questions like, ‘Well, why am I there? Who’s the cowboy? What’s going on? What reality are we in?'”

According to Theroux, Lynch “cleared the whole set” on the first day of shooting. “They were laying cable and hanging lights as you do,” explained Theroux. “And he said, ‘Wait a minute, everyone’s got to get out of here. Me and Justin need to talk.’” 

The pair chatted and Theroux was given the chance to ask Lynch questions about the movie and its script. When he finished posing his queries, Lynch commented: “‘You know, I don’t know, buddy. But let’s find out.'”

“He wasn’t being cute or cheeky or evasive; he genuinely didn’t know,” adds Theroux. “He’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s like you’re on an escalator into a cloud with him, you never know where the escalator lets off.”

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[Via: IndieWire]