Rather than endlessly speculating on vague hints from recent interviews or photos of wisteria vines, the Tulpaforum decided it was time to go straight to the horse’s mouth and hosted a detailed Q&A session with Sabrina S. Sutherland, a key figure in David Lynch’s daily operations. Through 50 refreshingly candid answers, the producer graciously shared insights on a wide range of topics, including the artist’s ongoing projects, more mysteries from Twin Peaks, and, of course, Cheetos.
The four biggest takeaways from the extensive Q&A in my opinion are:
- Unrecorded Night, a non-Twin Peaks series cancelled by Netflix close to production due to the pandemic, has not been shelved definitively.
- Despite Netflix’s decision to pass on it, Sabrina is actively involved in advancing Snootworld, a fun fairytale-like animated feature film written by David Lynch and Caroline Thompson.
- David Lynch harbors ideas for another season of Twin Peaks.
- David Lynch may release one or two music albums in the near future.
Here’s a selection of Sabrina’s answers:
On Unrecorded Night (codename: Wisteria)
Question: Minus all the rumors, minus the vague-booking by Twin Peaks cast members, we actually have evidence that David has filed for DGA copyrights on 13 scripts for something called Unrecorded Night. Though notoriously unreliable, IMDb lists this as “in production.” Is Unrecorded Night something that has been filmed, is being filmed, or was supposed to be filmed and then shelved by Netflix?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Unrecorded Night was a non-Twin Peaks series that was going to shoot at Netflix but was cancelled when the pandemic hit. We were in pre-production and close to shooting. There’s always a chance we can pick it up again, but David has been enjoying his artwork and music endeavors, so we haven’t gone back to it yet.
Question: Is there a possibility of David doing anything else with Netflix?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: There’s always a possibility.
On Twin Peaks
Do you think when season 3 of Twin Peaks ended, it was intended as a finale, or an entry, or tease into a new story?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: I personally hope there will be more. As for the intention, I don’t know. I know that David has more ideas for another season, but I don’t know about Mark [Frost].
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In interviews David Lynch is famously cagey, giving ambiguous responses, or speaking about the value of ideas rather than explain his specific intentions in his work. But when he’s in a writing session or on set, is he more direct and clear about what he wants? When writing with Mark Frost on Twin Peaks, do they actually openly discuss what is going on in the story or in the themes of the project, or is it still in a vague, intuitive method?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: I am not a part of the writing sessions of Mark and David. For what David writes alone I am, so I will answer with what I know. David usually keeps things to himself but there are times where he shares things with me unwritten. I will at times question things and although those times he listens, only rarely will he give a satisfying answer. Bottom line, he does not say the meaning during those times really either.
Do David and Mark ever talk these days?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: They each have their own projects they are working on, but I don’t know if they talk at all. If they do, I am not there when they do.
Did you ever find yourself having to mediate creative differences between Lynch and Mark Frost?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: No
Are the props and sets for The Return still in the same storage warehouse? If so, can you tell us the specific reason why they’re still being stored? Many productions auction off props after a show ends.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Most of the props and sets will be a part of something (outside of another tv show or movie). They are not for sale and some have already been destroyed.
The Twin Peaks: Official Fan Celebration in Graceland was canceled in 2020. Will a similar event (not necessarily in Graceland) ever be planned?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Yes, and I hope soon!
Was there any location shooting for The Return other than California and Washington? The New York skyline was stock footage, but what about Las Vegas etc?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: We shot in Paris, France. We were going to shoot in Las Vegas and scouted there, but we ended up not doing that with first unit.
As we saw some snippets of cut scenes in The Return’s Blu-Ray extras (extra dialogue of The Fireman talking to Cooper/The Fireman in the Red Room etc.), do you feel that there is a possibility for The Return to ever have its own ‘Missing Pieces’ style release with scenes that are still relevant to the story that was told that were cut down/didn’t make the final edit?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: As I remember, the show itself used most of not almost all that was shot, so I don’t think there will be. However, there may be footage from the behind-the-scenes that wasn’t used.
Is the “Phillip Jeffries” Mr. C speaks to on the phone in Part 2 played by an actor we are already familiar with from the series? I’m not expecting a name obviously, but just wondering whether or not it was a case of deliberate casting, as some of us suspect, or just a random day player.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: That’s hard to say, but there are never any random day players.
In Part 18, what actor played the dead man on Carrie Page’s couch?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Someone uncredited.
In Part 18, the footage of Cooper and Laura walking in the woods repeats from Part 17. There has been speculation that this may be an indication of a time loop or “record skipping” repetition. Any validity to this line of thought, or was it a strictly editorial choice to remind viewers of what had happened in the prior hour?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: It’s however you want to see it.
Was there more to Riley Lynch’s “Anybody seen Billy?” scene during shooting? It’s a great scene, but the editing is very jarring (in a good way). As some have noted, the Double R patrons move around between cuts, and Riley pops up again at the end of the scene (rising from a table with a female companion and paying his bill at the counter) even though we previously saw him running out of the diner. Furthermore, it looks to me like Riley’s mouth isn’t actually moving when he asks about Billy. Given how weird the scene is in all these respects, I wonder if the concept of that scene changed at the editorial stage.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Yes.
Duwayne Dunham has said that the Fireman/Cooper scene was not originally the first scene of the show, and was moved in editing. Could you please provide an incredibly cryptic answer to one of the following (dealer’s choice):
(a) What was the scripted first scene of The Return?; or
(b) Where was the Fireman/Cooper scene originally placed?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: So, the script was written modularly meaning that although the script was written like a script, scenes could be moved around in editing depending on David’s preference. I was always told this from the beginning of pre-production. Duwayne did the first editor’s cut and then he left. David continued to edit a full 6 months beyond that to create his director’s cut and the final product. The script was not the determining factor of where a scene would go. Everything was in David’s head alone.
Can you speak to what happened with Michael Ontkean’s absence from The Return? Allegedly he was down to reprise the role of Sheriff Harry S. Truman, and then he pulled out shortly before filming.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: I love Michael Ontkean!! I so wish he could have done it, but circumstances – timing/locations/etc. – just couldn’t be worked out in time. However, Robert Forster was lovely and amazing as his brother in the later series. You have to remember that production has a specific schedule and not everyone can make it work in theirs.
On Snootworld
Not going to even bother asking about Wisteria/UN but I am curious if she could elaborate at all on the status of Snootworld or generally talk about what it’s like, etc? Figured since Lynch has “come out” about it publicly via Deadline it’s maybe more of a safe topic.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Ha! Is anything ever safe? ? Snootworld is a fun fairytale-like animation feature film script that David and Caroline Thompson wrote. I hope it gets to see the light of day. I am working on it … I am still trying to make it happen. That’s the only progress.
Have we already seen a ‘Snoot’ before but never realized it?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Yes, possibly
On (working with) David Lynch
Does David have any upcoming projects outside of the film world that you can talk about, like upcoming art gallery exhibitions, musical releases, or books being published?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: He is working on music right now, so I anticipate an album or two in the near future. As for art, he just had an installation in Italy of a Thinking Room.
Since Sabrina mentioned that she’s helping Lynch with music lately, who is running Lynch’s soundboard these days, since Dean Hurley moved away?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: Not for me to say. When an album comes out, you will see.
What is your observation of how Lynch achieves such strange, unique and specific performances from his actors, some of whom have not really exhibited that kind of performance in their other work? We saw a little of it on the behind-the-scenes footage of season 3, but I’m still mystified at the process.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: He is simply a great director. He is usually able to give descriptions and explanations so the actor knows what the effect should be. Sometimes he has to work harder than other times, so there is that. Also, most if not all the actors are willing to really trust him. That’s super important.
Have you and David ever considered crowdfunding a film project for him? Other indie films projects have raised millions of dollars through crowdfunding, and so to the extent there was ever a shortfall of funds for a film project David were anticipating, presumably his large and passionate fan base would be willing to financially chip in if it were ever needed.
Sabrina S. Sutherland: That’s nice to say. We have considered it actually, but we haven’t done it yet.
Has Lynch ever recently thought of working on a video game? That’s a medium he hasn’t touched and is a perfect medium for him
Sabrina S. Sutherland: He has thought about it both in the past and recently. He has had several ideas – all cool – and I wish we would do them!
Could you explain a bit more about the recent restorations David has done of his back catalog? How involved was he in the process and if so how does he feel about doing them? Are they creatively fulfilling or are they more of a nostalgic experience?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: He is very involved with the process. He feels that he as the director should be the one making sure everything is correct rather than just allowing the distribution company to make those technical and artistic decisions. He has loved using DolbyVision for his film projects as well as other new technical advances to improve the digital look to make the film look like it should. Some of the old standard def dvds are not good now in comparison. There is also some nostalgia of course. We have stopped at many, many scenes while remastering to hear a story from David about what took place at the time of shooting. You can’t beat that experience. I am very lucky to get to hear them.
What is your average day of work like when David is not working on a film project? Do you see him every weekday typically?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: I am currently working on his archive so I am working where he is and see him then. I never have an average day though. I may be doing several projects at once so at least it’s not boring!
At different times over the years (particularly when DavidLynch.com was a thing) David has made short films. We know David spends a lot of time working on painting, film, music; does he still ever work on any short (or more open-ended) filmed art?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: He still has ideas and likes to do short films, but his artwork and music have taken up most if not all of his time lately. I hope he will do more of these myself!
Will David Lynch ever direct another feature film or TV series?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: I hope so.
About how many Cheetos does David Lynch consume per day? Do you have to ensure that they are always nearby for him? Do you consider them a source of inspiration or a distraction or David?
Sabrina S. Sutherland: David only eats Cheetos when we go to the lab for mastering/color timing. He will eat a small bag while we work – that along with peanut m&ms. He really doesn’t eat that kind of stuff often. He has a good, healthy diet usually. He only jokingly said this to Spielberg, but he was happy that he really had that on hand when we went to the shoot. He was a happy camper that day!
Many of David’s fans were very sad to see the news about his diagnosis of emphysema a while back. This news was reported after an earlier interview when David was quoted as saying that “If I had the strength, I would prefer to get into a series.” I totally understand if you consider it a private matter that isn’t to be discussed, but to the extent you’re open to saying anything on the topic: How is David’s health these days? Does he have the strength to direct a series or a film?
David is in good health and totally has the strength to direct and work.
Sabrina S. Sutherland
Well, that’s a lot to chew on! Thanks to Sabrina and the people behind Tulpaforum!
Fire walk with 
I’m very (pleasantly) surprised to read that Lynch is open to returning (again) to Twin Peaks.
I won’t get my hopes up too high but I really thought season 3 was the ending he wanted.
My guess is he can’t keep the ideas from flowing into his head with what is probably his life’s most important work. I agree I think at the time the end of S3 was the end for everyone involved, but it’s been 6 or 7 years now.