David Lynch during the filming of his 1977 film Eraserhead (Libra Films photo).
A Tribute to David Lynch, an ‘Unapologetic Genius’
January 18, 2025
In my earliest days at Netflix, when we were only mailing DVDs around the United States, I had the most amazing experience meeting one of my all-time favorite filmmakers in his home.
We tried to stock every title ever released on DVD, but one of my favorite movies, Eraserhead, was only available for purchase from Davidlynch.com — and DVDs cost $50 each. There was no way to buy the large quantities that we needed. I reached out to David and asked for a meeting, which he granted. I went to his Hollywood home, which was filled with his amazing art, and at his dining room table we agreed to a bulk buy of Eraserhead and for Netflix to produce a DVD of all of his visionary short films.
This was in 2000, a few years before both Eraserhead and the shorts collection would be released commercially.
After we agreed to make this happen, David gave me a tour of the house and his art. Then he asked if I would like to take a look at an early cut of his next film. I thought he meant some scenes. He brought me to his screening room and ran a nearly three-hour cut of Mulholland Drive. I hadn’t planned on being there all day, but was amazed to be in David Lynch’s home and in his screening room watching his yet-to-be-released new film. About two hours in, I realized that he had left. I watched the rest of the film and let myself out.
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Years later, Netflix is a global streaming service and producing original series and films. David and I only spoke on a few occasions, but he came in with a pitch for a limited series, which we jumped at. It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks, but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius. First COVID, then some health uncertainties led to this project never being produced. We canceled only because we could not predict when it could start up again, but made clear that we were back in when he was ready.
The last time I spoke to David was as thrilling as the first. He came to my home with my friend and his muse, Laura Dern, and we had a long, amazing conversation about projects, cinema, life, art and my windows. He loved my windows and took dozens of pictures of them and said that he was going to have his set design team replicate them for his home.
David Lynch was an unapologetic genius. He didn’t want you to understand his work. He knew that was impossible and it was part of the ride together. His body of work is remarkable, visionary, bold and artful. I will always wonder about what he had in mind for us with what would have been his last project.
Ted Sarandos is co-CEO of Netflix. Lynch, the filmmaker behind such classic films as ‘Eraserhead,’ ‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘The Elephant Man,’ ‘Mulholland Drive’ and the cult TV series “Twin Peaks,” died Jan. 15, five days before what would have been his 79th birthday.