David Lynch advanced to the front ranks of international cinema in 1977 with the release of his first film, the startlingly original
Eraserhead. Over the course of his career, Lynch was nominated for three Best Director Academy Awards (
The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and
Mulholland Drive), won the Palme d'Or for
Wild at Heart, swept the country with
Twin Peaks mania in 1990 when his groundbreaking television series premiered on ABC, and established himself as an artist of tremendous range and wit. He is the author of a previous book,
Catching the Big Fish, on Transcendental Meditation. David Lynch died in January 2025.
Kristine McKenna is a widely published critic and journalist who wrote for the
Los Angeles Times from 1976 through 1998, and has been a close friend and interviewer of David Lynch since 1979. Her profiles and criticism have appeared in
Artforum, The New York Times, ARTnews, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, and
Rolling Stone. Her books include
The Ferus Gallery: A Place to Begin and two collections of interviews.