Gregg Araki on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Gregg Araki on Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Gregg Araki pretty much put the word ‘independent’ into Independent Film. When this self-confessed nerdy film kid agreed to do our show I couldn’t wait to hear what he would choose. After all, he has blown our minds over the years so what would blow his?
This conversation was the perfect way to get to know him and the film. Gregg and Cooper go back a looooong way and I learned a lot not just about Lynchian tropes and Cannes audiences, but also about some of the mischief Gregg and my esteemed co-host got up to back in the day. Not to be missed. - Tabitha Jackson
About the Episode
Iconic filmmaker Gregg Araki brings us into the singular, surreal world of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Universally panned when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, the film has since become a cult classic. Starring Sheryl Lee and Kyle McClachlan, with cameos from David Bowie and Harry Dean Stanton, the film is Lynch’s answer to the question posed by his Twin Peaks television series: Who killed Laura Palmer? Gregg makes the case for the movie as a clear expression of Lynch’s uncompromising genius, and as distinct among his films for its emotional resonance.
We learn about Gregg’s early influences, from graphic novels to the Sex Pistols, Godard, and Fassbinder, and how the commercial bomb of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me intersected with the theatrical release of his own first film, The Living End. Plus, how copy machines fueled the early days of American independent film.