The list of projects that David Lynch has at one time flirted with or considered is quite long, as this rundown at the fansite The City Of Absurdity makes clear, (it hasn’t been updated in over a decade so there’s much missing too). And at one time, the director looked at bringing Franz Kafka‘s masterpiece “Metamorphosis” to the big screen.
The novella — about a man who finds he’s been turned into an insect — seems perfect (and perhaps maybe too on the nose) for Lynch’s sensibilities. However, with a complete script, the director realized he wasn’t going to top the source material.
“Once I finished writing the script for a feature film adaptation I realized that Kafka’s beauty is in his words. That story is so full of words that when I was finished writing I realized it was better on paper than it could ever be on film,” he said at the Rome Film Festival.
Years ago, Lynch also cited the potentially costly nature of “Metamorphosis” from keeping the movie from the big screen. “…probably only a very small audience would have wanted to see the film and a high budget to realize the insect and do the things based on the story. Also, in the end, I felt that it was better left as a great book,” he said at the Lucca Film Festival in 2014.
So, whatever Lynch does next, you can scratch Kafka off the list. As for the future of “Twin Peaks,” he’s not ready to say anything just yet except that it’s “too soon to tell if a fourth season is going to happen.” After directing 18 hours of narrative, Lynch is allowed to take a bit of a breather. [Screen Daily]