Blue Velvet Tagged Articles at Cinematical

For some reason best left to psychologists, there are people who are attracted to what I call ... sex creeps. This type of character goes beyond what is called jolie-laide in women, a term that directly translates to pretty-ugly, although is generally used to describe "unconventional" beauty. There's no real correlation between the jolie-laide and the sex creep. No, the sex creep is attractive but prone to certain, shall we say, peccadilloes that go beyond the pale -- dating blow-up dolls, crashing cars to get off, dabbling in experimental gynecology. These guys all slime their ways between the lines.

In any case, here are seven of my favorite sex creeps. You might also notice there's a certain director who shows up a few times on the list -- he's an honorary sex creep as well. I hope he takes his title in the complimentary manner in which it's given.

David Lynch is one of my favorite film makers, and there's a terrific profile of him over at The Age. The best part of the piece is when the interviewer casually asks Lynch about all the rumors circulating about him. Specifically, is it true that he keeps a bottled uterus on his desk? "I don't have a uterus on my desk, " Lynch answers, shaking his head vigorously. The interviewer presses him -- maybe you've got one somewhere else? Lynch's response: "Yes, I have a bottle with a uterus in it. It was never on my desk, it's somewhere in the house. That belonged to Raffaella de Laurentiis, Dino's daughter. She had it removed. I didn't ask her for it. She thought I might appreciate it, and she had the doctor package it and send it for me." Just...wow. I think the funniest part is that he's not at all fazed by the uterus question, only that somebody would have the balls to think that he keeps it on his desk. That's what I love about David Lynch -- you think Ron Howard ever gets bottled uterus questions?

Question two -- Did Lynch ever dissect a cat? "For sure. Now here is the deal. Is this a sickness? Nooooah! In school, many classes will dissect a frog or salamander, maybe a fish. How many chefs are working with fish? It was important for me for many reasons to check out some real organic material. I called the vet. He asked me some questions to ascertain whether I was a nutcake. He determined that I was serious, but said at the present time he had no cat for me. Five minutes later, a cat had just come in, and he called me." Here's the cherry on top: "It was just a learning experience."

Director David Lynch is one of those filmmakers you either love or hate. From the wildly entertaining and disturbing Blue Velvet to his take on Frank Herbert's epic novel Dune through his more recent projects like Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, he's shown his flair for creating unusual, unsettling and deeply complex stories. From his work and the fact that he sometimes shys away from press for his projects, some may assume he's some sort of socially inept hermit who's only source of expression is through his films.

Fortunately, the director has given us a few glimpses into his life, especially through his own website where he's rumored to appear in the forums from time to time, ready to discuss the good and bad about any of his films or the merits of a good cup of coffee. And now, according to Twitch Film, we'll be getting even more insight into the man known as David Lynch. How, you may ask? By watching an upcoming documentary about the director -- a teaser for which is already up at the Twitch Film site. According to the sight, the documentary has been shooting for over two years during the time Lynch was making his latest project, Inland Empire.

The documentary filmmakers have amassed over 700 hours of footage and when the documentary is completed it "will give the most current perspective on one of cinema's greatest directors and will bring to life his creative process and joy for living life to its fullest potential." As I'm a huge fan of the man and his films, I'll be very interested to see this documentary once its released. Lynch is a very talented and sometimes misunderstood genius who deserves to have his story told. Besides, any man who eats at Bob's Big Boy every day for eight years is alright in my book.

Are you obsessed with trying to figure out the manic mind of David Lynch? If you win this contest hosted by ThisNext, then the prizes will take you a long way down the road and hopefully help to unravel some of the pieces. A word of warning though, once you set foot on this trail you'll go insane trying, or you'll reach a whole other plane of existence. Or something. The key is just not to blame Cinematical in the process, because you're not supposed to shoot the messenger. Although, if the messenger was just pure evil, I guess that would be okay.

While Inland Empire itself is just now being rolled out in theaters (check here to see where it is near you), Lynch has been confounding minds and expanding horizons ever since Eraserhead back in 1977. You've probably seen Blue Velvet at some point, or heard people talk about Twin Peaks around the water cooler, back before TV shows like Lost filled the current need for enigma in our entertainment. So at the very least, you probably know he's one weird guy. If you want to know here's what you can win:

This week's prize, assembled by the dancing dwarf from Twin Peaks, contains:

• The first Inland Empire poster ever made available to the public
• A signed Eraserhead deluxe DVD.
• A Dumbland deluxe DVD: You've never seen cartoons quite like these.
• A David Lynch T-shirt.
• The Short Films of David Lynch: This DVD = weird x 6.

Sound good? Head over to ThisNext and follow these instructions.

How to Enter:
1. Go to ThisNext.com (comments left on this blog don't count as entries. You must recommend an item someone else can buy)!
2. Recommend things that help you express your creativity.
3. Tag your recommendations "creativity"
4. Multiple entries increase your chances of winning.

That's it. Get cracking and let us know what sort of maddening or enlightening information you're able to glean.

Director David Lynch, who has made some of the most creative and surreal films to come out of Hollywood, including Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, releases his anger and boosts his creativity through meditation. Our sib site The Cardio Blog has a piece up about how Lynch has practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM) for some 30 years. The Cardio Blog notes that releasing anger has been documented as reducing heart disease later in life. I've been practicing TM myself since I was 14, and I was interested to learn that Lynch has set up The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.

The Foundation has the goal of promoting Transcendental Meditation in schools. Lynch says on the site, "Someday, hopefully very soon, 'diving within' as a preparation for learning and as a tool for developing the creative potential of the mind will be a standard part of every school's curriculum." The Foundation provides scholarships for students to learn the TM technique and for students to attend schools based on Consciousness-Based Education. The site talks a lot about the effects of stress on children, how the state of consciousness achieved by TM protects the brain and enhances creativity and learning potential, and increases academic achievement.

The site doesn't talk about the effects of TM on one's ability to come up with movies like the ones Lynch makes -- films with winding, complex plots and intense characters (I think my favorite Lynch character in terms of sheer craziness is Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth in Blue Velvet; he was way beyond disturbing). Lynch has long been one of my favorite directors, but I had no idea that he practices TM as a way of enhancing his creativity. I'd hate to see what some of his films would look like if he didn't release anger through meditation, though.