David Lynch reflects on the phone call that… | Little White Lies

Trailers

David Lynch reflects on the phone call that changed his life

13 Jun 2017

Words by Ed Gibbs

The cult direc­tor recalls a defin­ing moment in his career in this exclu­sive clip from The Art Life.

David Lynch has been mak­ing art for half a cen­tu­ry. In that time he’s turned his hand to writ­ing, paint­ing, music, pho­tog­ra­phy and most famous­ly film and tele­vi­sion. But things might have turned out very dif­fer­ent­ly for Montana’s favourite son had he not received a grant from the fledg­ling Amer­i­can Film Insti­tute back in 1970.

In this exclu­sive clip from David Lynch: The Art Life, a new doc­u­men­tary about the renowned Amer­i­can artist’s rich and var­ied career, he describes the moment his then wife, Peg­gy Lentz, alert­ed to him the phone call that changed his life, effec­tive­ly set­ting him on the course he’s so suc­cess­ful­ly fol­lowed ever since.

Get more Lit­tle White Lies

Direct­ed by Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes and Olivia Neer­gaard-Holm, the film shines a light on Lynch’s unique cre­ative process, with illu­mi­nat­ing nar­ra­tion pro­vid­ed by the cult film­mak­er him­self. In our first-look review, we described the film as offer­ing ​“a peek into the com­pli­cat­ed life and mind of one of America’s most orig­i­nal and unusu­al auteurs.”

David Lynch: The Art Life is released in the UK on 14 July.

Two illustrated book covers depicting a smiling Black man wearing a hat and tie, with a city skyline in the background

LWLies 107: The Sin­ners issue – Out now!

You might like

Flame billowing from industrial chimney on snowy landscape, person in warm coat standing in foreground.
Incoming

It’s time for action in the explosive first trailer for How to Blow Up a Pipeline

by Charles Bramesco

A cross-cul­tur­al coali­tion plots to dis­rupt an oil sup­ply chain in Daniel Gold­haber’s gal­va­niz­ing new film.
Two smiling women, one with short hair and the other with longer hair, wearing dark clothing, in a black and white photograph.
Incoming

Hong Sang-soo gets lost in the funhouse in the first Walk Up trailer

by Charles Bramesco

The Kore­an film­mak­er’s lat­est dra­ma climbs through the floors of an apart­ment build­ing and finds pock­ets of quo­tid­i­an life.
Two armed military personnel in combat gear standing next to an armoured vehicle.
Incoming

Jake Gyllenhaal takes on the Taliban in the first trailer for The Covenant

by Charles Bramesco

In Guy Ritchie’s new thriller, a sol­dier must fight his way through Afghanistan to res­cue the inter­preter who saved his life.
Two women, one with long brown hair and the other with short dark hair, standing together in a room.
Incoming

Puberty is an adventure in the Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret trailer

by Charles Bramesco

The Edge of Sev­en­teen direc­tor Kel­ly Fre­mon Craig returns to the tra­vails of ado­les­cent girlhood.
Young woman in a cluttered room, holding a plush toy.
Incoming

Michelle Williams just needs some hot water in the first Showing Up trailer

by Charles Bramesco

She plays a frus­trat­ed artist prepar­ing for a show in Kel­ly Reichardt’s wry, down­beat comedy.
Incoming

Pay your way out of death in the trailer for Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool

by Charles Bramesco

Alexan­der Skars­gård and Mia Goth star in the thriller set at a resort hid­ing an under­side of depravity.