David Lynch’s Main Ask for ‘The Fabelmans’ Role Was a Bag of Cheetos in His Dressing Room: ‘Incredible Flavor’

Ryan Lattanzio

December 20, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.·2 min read

“Twin Peaks” director David Lynch loves a damn fine cup of coffee in the morning, but he also loves a bag of Cheetos in his dressing room.

The Oscar-nominated “Mulholland Drive” filmmaker recently spoke with Empire Magazine about his role in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 memoir movie “The Fabelmans.” In the Best Picture-nominated film, Lynch cameos as director John Ford in the last scene, offering sage advice to rookie filmmaker Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) about why a horizon should never sit in the center of a frame. “John Ford probably had a bunch of things he could call on to give a short education to that young lad. But he picked the horizon bit,” Lynch said. “But it’s true. A horizon in the middle is boring as shit.”

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Lynch, as he reiterates in the Empire interview, initially did not want to star in the film. But we know from last year’s press cycle around “The Fabelmans” that his longtime collaborate Laura Dern was instrumental in convincing Lynch to take on the project. However, as Lynch explained to Empire, there was another, cheesier reason that helped bring him to the movie.

“Well, Cheetos, number one, I love them,” said Lynch, who had a bag of the dusty corn puff snack brought to his dressing room. “And any chance I can, I get them. But I know that they’re not exactly health food. So when I do leave the house and I get a chance to… But I don’t get them that often, honestly. If I do get them, I want a big bag. Because once you start… you need to have a lot before you could slow down and actually stop. Otherwise, with a small bag, then you’d be prowling for days to find more […] It’s incredible flavour.”

So there you have it: If you want David Lynch in your movie, bring him a tasty snack.

The director has not released a feature film project since 2006’s “Inland Empire” and his last ambitious swing behind the camera was the 2017 revival, “Twin Peaks: The Return,” for Showtime. His short film “What Did Jack Do?” premiered on Netflix in early 2020. He stopped doing his YouTube “Weather Report” series at the end of 2022, so here’s hoping it’s because he’s been distracted by another film or series. A rumored series at Netflix, titled “Wisteria,” appears to be no more.

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