Steve McQueen says David Lynch approached cinema with ‘two guns blazing’
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Oscar-winning filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen has praised David Lynch for approaching his projects with “two guns blazing” as he paid tribute to the acclaimed director following his death aged 78. The British director joined the world of film and TV in remembering the “visionary” Oscar-winning filmmaker, who was known for the surreal TV series Twin Peaks and films such as The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet.
The US filmmaker’s death comes five months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung disease, after “many years of smoking”. Sir Steve recalled how Lynch did things his own way, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “Go out there with two guns blazing. Don’t be afraid.
“I remember someone saying to me ‘Steve, be careful’, I said, ‘Absolutely not’. So any artists, just do not be careful, that’s what David did.”. He added: “He did it his way. He designed nightclubs, he painted, he did what he wanted to do.
“I tip my hat to him, he went out with two guns blazing, he did it, end of story. And he tapped in to the mainstream, which is extraordinary.”. Sir Steve, whose 2013 drama 12 Years A Slave won the best picture Oscar, said Lynch’s hit 90s TV series Twin Peaks was cinematic in its approach as it allowed you to spend time with the characters rather than cutting from scene to scene.
“You got to know them in a way, you got to care about them in a way”, he said. “But also, it was the darkness. I think it was putting the evil to the forefront of our narrative. Because evil and darkness are as as prominent now as they were then.”.
