‘It’s all in the damn history books’: David Lynch rails against the death of cinemas | Film

David Lynch has broken his media silence with an interview in French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema, in which he took the opportunity to rail against the experience of watching films on streaming platforms.

Saying that “coronavirus has put a stop” to watching films in cinemas, Lynch said: “Feature films are in a bad place, series have taken their place … You could sit down and actually have the experience of stepping into a whole new world. Now that’s all in the damn history books. It’s distressing.”

Lynch also repeated his criticism of watching films on phones, saying, “I always say: people think they’ve seen a movie, but if they’ve watched it on a phone, they haven’t seen anything. It’s sad.”

Acknowledging that “TV is not bad”, Lynch added: “But saying goodbye to movie theatres is the hardest part. Art and writing are over. Theatre owners … continue for the love of cinema. There are still heroes fighting for it.”

Lynch also revealed that he initially turned down Steven Spielberg’s offer to play a cameo in The Fabelmans as celebrated director John Ford, saying that he recommended fellow director Peter Bogdanovich instead. However, he said he had been persuaded by his Wild at Heart actor Laura Dern; he did not confirm that he had requested Cheetos on set, but did say he felt comfortable in the costume that the film had provided: “It was pretty much my kind of clothes: I like high-waisted pants.”

Lynch added that his popular series of YouTube weather reports would not return after his final post on 16 December last year. He said: “Now I can sleep longer in the morning. I had to get up very early to consult the real weather bulletin. In two years I have not missed a single one.”

David Lynch has broken his media silence with an interview in French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema, in which he took the opportunity to rail against the experience of watching films on streaming platforms.

Saying that “coronavirus has put a stop” to watching films in cinemas, Lynch said: “Feature films are in a bad place, series have taken their place … You could sit down and actually have the experience of stepping into a whole new world. Now that’s all in the damn history books. It’s distressing.”

Lynch also repeated his criticism of watching films on phones, saying, “I always say: people think they’ve seen a movie, but if they’ve watched it on a phone, they haven’t seen anything. It’s sad.”

Acknowledging that “TV is not bad”, Lynch added: “But saying goodbye to movie theatres is the hardest part. Art and writing are over. Theatre owners … continue for the love of cinema. There are still heroes fighting for it.”

Lynch also revealed that he initially turned down Steven Spielberg’s offer to play a cameo in The Fabelmans as celebrated director John Ford, saying that he recommended fellow director Peter Bogdanovich instead. However, he said he had been persuaded by his Wild at Heart actor Laura Dern; he did not confirm that he had requested Cheetos on set, but did say he felt comfortable in the costume that the film had provided: “It was pretty much my kind of clothes: I like high-waisted pants.”

Lynch added that his popular series of YouTube weather reports would not return after his final post on 16 December last year. He said: “Now I can sleep longer in the morning. I had to get up very early to consult the real weather bulletin. In two years I have not missed a single one.”