Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Reveals Unrealized David Lynch Project in Tribute to ‘Unapologetic Genius’
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos paid tribute to David Lynch on social media and revealed that the visionary filmmaker had a potential project with the streaming service at the time of his death.
Sarandos first met Lynch back when Netflix was “mailing DVDs” to households. “We tried to stock every movie on DVD, but one of my favorite movies, ‘Eraserhead,’ was not commercially available,” the Netflix co-CEO wrote. “I reached out to David and asked for a meeting and at his dining room table we agreed to a bulk buy of ‘Eraserhead’ and for Netflix to produce a DVD of all of his visionary short films.”
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Sarandos continued, “After we agreed to make this happen, David gave me a tour of the house and his art. Then he asked if I would like to take a look at an early cut of his next film. I thought he meant some scenes. He brought me to his screening room and ran a nearly 3 hour cut of ‘Mulholland Drive.’ I hadn’t planned on being there all day but was amazed to be in David Lynch’s home and in his screening room watching his yet to be released new film. About 2 hours in, I realized that he had left. I watched the rest of the film and let myself out.”
Decades later, with Netflix now a streaming service, Lynch and Sarandos again met to discuss a “limited series [Netflix] jumped at.”
“It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius,” Sarandos wrote. “First Covid, then some health uncertainties lead to this project never being produced but we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in.”
According to Variety, the project was believed to be a 13-episode series titled Unrecorded Night, which Lynch would write and direct himself alongside frequent cinematographer Peter Deming. However, as Sarandos noted, the pandemic first delayed the series, and Lynch’s battle with emphysema — which he revealed would only allow him to direct remotely — ultimately made it an unrealized project.
(The project was also apparently separate from Lynch’s reported animated series Snootworld, which Lynch said Netflix outright “rejected” in April 2024.)
Following that Netflix meeting, Sarandos encountered Lynch one more time prior to the director’s death, when he and actress Laura Dern visited Sarandos’ house.
“David Lynch was an unapologetic genius. He didn’t want you to understand his work,” Sarandos added. “He knew that was impossible and it was part of the ride together. His body of work is remarkable, visionary, bold and artful. I will always wonder about what he had in mind for us with what would have been his last project.”
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