No, no, no, you’re not in some fugue state where you’ve turned into a younger, tanner man while rotting in a jail cell for murder, you read that right: master director/nightmare creator David Lynch is finally getting an Oscar!
While he was nominated four times prior for his work on The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive (where he 100% should have won…maybe), Lynch has never actually held the statuette in his hand. Thankfully, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has seen the error of their ways.
The world-famous Lost Highway director will be joined by fellow filmmaker Lina Wertmüller and venerable actors Gina Davis and Wes Studi to round out the four recipients for the year. The Governor’s Award, as this honorary Oscar is officially called, is given to “individuals who have devoted themselves to a lifetime of artistic accomplishment and brought outstanding contributions to our industry, and beyond,” says current Academy President John Bailey. Personally, I think Wes should have gotten an Oscar for his chiasmus-filled performance as The Sphinx in Mystery Men, but that’s neither here nor there.
David Lynch first came to prominence with his mind-fuck art project Eraserhead in 1977 after five grueling years of here-and-there production. His cerebral, cosmic, terrifying sense of humanity led him to create the most human monster since Frankenstein’s creation with the titular Elephant Man – poor John Merrick.
Then there’s Dune which, uh, is certainly a movie. Even Lynch hates it, so let’s just skip to Twin Peaks, his successful spooky noir TV series, which finally concluded last year after a decades-long hiatus. I could go on and on describing his filmography, but you fans already know it by heart.
With a distinctive style and erstwhile dedication to creating real, true, weird-ass capital-A Art with his films, it’s no surprise that the Academy would choose to honor the Inland Empire director. Although, it’s commonly thought that once an older actor or director receives the Governor’s Award, it basically signals that their career is over. I really, truly, honestly hope this isn’t the case, but if so, we’ll always have Pabst Blue Ribbon.
David Lynch, never change.
