Film-maker David Lynch clarifies he will not retire despite lung disease
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David Lynch said on Aug 5 that he had emphysema, but had no plans of retiring.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – American film-maker David Lynch said on Aug 5 that he is filled with happiness and will never retire despite an emphysema diagnosis, clarifying comments he made earlier to magazine Sight And Sound that he would most likely have to stop working.
The 78-year-old posted on social media platform X that he appreciated everyone who has voiced concern over his health condition, noting that his past as a smoker caused his emphysema, a lung disease with no known cure.
“Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking. I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco – the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them,” he wrote, gaining 1.3 million likes.
“But there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is emphysema. I have now quit smoking for over two years. Recently, I had many tests and the good news is that I am in excellent shape except for emphysema,” he added.
He also said in the interview for Sight And Sound’s September cover story that he was no longer able to leave his home, as he was afraid of contracting Covid-19, which would threaten his health even further.
“I’ve got emphysema from smoking for so long, and so I’m home-bound whether I like it or not... And now, because of Covid, it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold,” Lynch told the British magazine.
The Elephant Man (1980) and Mulholland Drive (2001) film-maker also mentioned he could walk only a short distance before he ran out of oxygen.
A representative for Lynch did not respond to a request for comment.
For Lynch, it is unlikely that he will ever direct in-person again, but he mentioned the possibility of directing remotely.
“I would really hate that,” he added, admitting that directing virtually would not be desirable for the Oscar-nominated director.
Lynch is perhaps best known for the television show Twin Peaks, an eerie mystery drama that was considered cutting-edge TV when it appeared on ABC in 1990. The show was adapted for the big screen in a film called Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992 and, later, revived in 2017 on American TV network Showtime.
In 2023, Lynch made a cameo appearance as the character John Ford in American director Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, a film about a family closely modelled on the Spielbergs.
Lynch appears at the end of the movie, when he gives Sammy Fabelman, the main character played by Canadian actor Gabriel LaBelle, advice about film-making.
According to the American Lung Association, emphysema – also referred to as chronic obstructive lung disease – is a disease that causes shortness of breath. Smoking and air pollution are the most common causes.
Early warning signs of the disease include coughing up mucus, wheezing and chest tightness, the association says on its website. REUTERS, NYTIMES
