Movies - TV
David Lynch Learned A Hard Lesson From Dune's Failure
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune" marked a significant turning point in his career, teaching him a hard lesson about the importance of creative control.
The studio and the producer demanded extensive cuts and added narration to make the film more accessible, resulting in a final product that was far from Lynch's original vision.
Lynch, who was not given final cut rights, became increasingly disillusioned with the Hollywood process and described the experience as his least favorite movie-making endeavor.
"Dune wasn't the film I wanted to make," Lynch told NPR. Reflecting on the lesson, he added, "I died a death. And it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract."
He has since recognized that without a final cut, he could never truly claim a film as his own, leading him to ensure he had final cut on all his subsequent projects.