Greetings --

I'm a frequent reader/infrequent poster to a_film_by, but just wanted to extend
an
invitation to all those in Los Angeles to come check out a free screening of my
82-minute
fan edit of "Inland Empire" tonight (Wednesday the 16th) at 10.30PM, at the
Silent Movie
Theatre, located at 611 N Fairfax Avenue, 90036.

Below are my "filmmaker's notes" for the project, if you're curious:




As a lifelong fan of the films of David Lynch, I walked into a showing of
"Inland Empire"
upon its original theatrical run with both joy and trepidation. On one hand,
since the film
was self-financed and -distributed, it was possible that Lynch's unconstrained
fertile
imagination would paint the screen in an uninhibited, unfiltered way the likes
of which we
the audience hadn't seen since "Eraserhead". On the other hand, it was also
possible that
the film's three-hour running time meant that Lynch had no one telling him --
least of all
the film's editor, which, according to the IMDB, was Lynch himself -- that maybe
some
stuff just doesn't play well (the film's end credits curiously do not list an
editor.)

As the curtains closed in the theater after this first viewing, I felt I was
mostly right on
both counts. What I saw was 90 minutes of good, and 90 minutes of not-good.
Every
other Lynch fan I've talked to about this film has felt the same, although no
two fans see
eye-to-eye on which 90 minutes they would cut, if given the chance to re-edit
the thing
themselves.

The "good" that I saw was a combination of all the things I've come to expect
from Lynch's
work: dread, unpredictability, silly-natured humor, superb sound design and a
sense of
pace that is unmistakably Lynchian. Some of the "not-good" stems from what I'll
call the
"lack of collaboration", meaning that when watching "Inland Empire", with all
its
homegrown charm and inherent faults, you become acutely aware just how much of
Lynch's final products rely on his actors, cinematographers, production
designers -- and
editors. Also, throughout the film, there are performances that simply don't
add up, either
because some of the actors are untrained and unequipped -- or because at times
the
"known" trained actors were required to spit out reams of poorly rendered
dialogue,
making it sound like it was made up on-the-spot, which it very well could have
been.

Too often, the film suffers from Lynch not being able to say "no" to himself.
With "Inland
Empire", the Lynchian mystique has deflated.

The version of the film you're about to see is my attempt at enhancing
everything which I
feel Lynch got right, while jettisoning lines, shots, scenes or even entire
plots and
characters which take the viewer out of the "Inland Empire" universe Lynch tried
so
carefully to construct. With my "enhancing" comes a considerable shortening of
running
time, as I feel the "less is more" attitude helps, rather than hurts this
particular film. In
Lynch's other films, everything feels in its place, even if the material takes
wild tangents.
In "Inland Empire", however, much feels too disconnected, with little in a place
that feels
right.

The 2007 DVD release of "Inland Empire" contained the 180-minute film, plus 75
minutes
of deleted scenes. This version, which I've titled "The Brevity Edit", includes
material from
both and runs a total of 82 minutes. I've tried to make this edit as seamless
as possible,
but there will be times where the seams might show, since of course I had no
access to
either the film's raw footage or unedited music score. I've also removed all
film credits
from this version, as Lynch has set a precedent of removing his name from a film
versions
which are not his, as evidenced by the syndicated-TV expanded cut of "Dune".

I sincerely hope that if Mr. Lynch hears of or sees the Brevity Edit, he is not
mortally
offended, but rather treats it as a critical response to his work.

Enjoy.






Again, check out a free screening of my 82-minute fan edit of "Inland Empire"
tonight
(Wednesday the 16th) at 10.30PM, at the Silent Movie Theatre, located at 611 N
Fairfax
Avenue, 90036.