Subject: Re: Finally saw "The Movie" (European release?)
From: jblum@lucy.umd.edu (Jon Blum)
Date: 1992-02-24, 18:15
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks

In article <33380@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (The fox so cunning and free) writes:
> >The scenario that the person I was responding to had in mind was something
> >like this:
> >
> >(1) Lynch films the pilot as a self-contained movie with the resolution
> >to the mystery.
> >(2) ABC looks at it and says, "OK, great, make a series out of it."
> >(3) Lynch then re-structures the pilot so that it's open-ended.
> >(4) Series begins production.
> >(5) Original self-contained pilot is released in Europe on video.
> >
> >What I'm saying is that the scenario is like this:
> >
> >(1) Lynch films the pilot, which sets up the mystery to be resolved in the
> >    series.
> >(2) ABC looks at it and says, "OK, great, make a series out of it."
> >(3) Series goes into pre-production.
> >(4) Plans are to market the pilot as a one-shot in Europe, so Lynch has
> >    to work up a resolution.
> >(5) Pilot is re-edited with additional footage and released in Europe
> >    while the series debuts in the US.

Here's my version of what I think happened:

(1a) Lynch comes up with a series proposal, and ABC okays it.
(1b) Ears perk up.  A new David Lynch movie?  Hey, this is ART!  We could
     make some money off of this!  A deal is put together to do a foreign
     video release -- but Lynch has to film an ending for it.
(1c) Lynch films the pilot, which sets up the mystery, AND in his spare time
     also films the Euro-ending.

Steps (2), (3), and (5) I agree with.  However, by the sheer awkwardness
with which the Euro-footage fits into the actual first-season episodes
(the totally illogical connections like Jacques' red drapes, for example),
I think those scenes were already written and shot before Lynch had any
idea to use them in the series.  He probably just figured he could shoot
whatever goofy stuff he wanted, and then he liked it enough to keep it.