Director Jennifer Lynch: Grilled

I thought, what about all the other people who don't have David Lynch to slap his name on this thing? So I went off and made it and came back and showed it to him and said, "If you hate it, we'll take your name off it." He's done that a lot -- helped get something made and then taken his name off it if he doesn't like the final product. But he said he wanted his name a little bigger. 


Do you think it's more difficult for indie filmmakers to get films made nowadays?
Yes, and it's because it's so much more available now for people to be shooting films and writing scripts. It's considered a lot more cool that if people want to tell stories, they can do it through cinema. I don't think it's because the business is changing as much as the competition is incredible. I was about 10 minutes away from putting a big pink, fuzzy cover on the script just so it would stand out on the desk.

Having to resort to gimmicks -- does that sadden you?
I prefer to think of it as an exciting challenge. I'd love to see what people start coming up with, like, "Hey, pay attention to me!" It's sort of like being a hooker when there's 50 other hookers out there. How do you get the john to pick you? Until the script is read, it's all about the song and dance and hopefully the material is what keeps them.

You faced a lot of criticism at a young age after "Boxing Helena." How did that affect you?
I'm a big fan of falling down a lot because it feels so much better to stand up after you've fallen down. It says, "I've tried, I've worked at it, I'm learning." Ultimately, I think I've grown up and I've certainly learned to not take too much to heart. It's very hard when people are calling you names or when they're saying great things about you when you're that young. Because you don't know what the truth is and the hypocrisy of it all. Now I'm 41. It all flew by.

Your film is premiering on video-on-demand -- that's a bit of an untraditional path for a movie.
I'm a little bit of a dinosaur. My daughter said, "Of course your movie's on video-on-demand, that's how you get the word out!" And I'm thinking, "But it's not even in theaters yet! How can it be on TV?"

So, are you okay with it?
I wish it were in theaters first. I know that it stops anybody from being nominated for anything if it's on TV first, even the smallest awards. But the response has been very good. I'm an old horse at a new water hole. Because I'm not in the business of promotion, I have to assume they know what they're doing. And maybe people would be more comfortable seeing it at home instead of in a theater with a group of people where they're afraid to laugh at certain points or be silent in other moments.

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