Who turns down an offer to direct a Star Wars movie straight from George Lucas himself? David Lynch does. The man responsible for films like The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks and Eraserhead not only decided to take a pass on directing Return of the Jedi, he adamantly refused.
Lynch tells of when Lucas approached him with the offer, which Lynch had “next door to zero interest” in doing. Still, Lynch met with Lucas. Meeting with Lucas isn’t as simple as picking up the phone and choosing a place to chat. He had to go to a building where he was given a special credit card, key and map. He was flown to the location after which Lynch admits he started to develop a headache. Then, Lucas introduced Lynch to the Wookiees and Lynch jokes, “Now, this headache is getting, you know, getting stronger.” When Lynch declined Lucas’ offer, he suggested that Lucas himself direct the film to which Lucas explained he doesn’t love directing.
The piece on Return of the Jedi is only a small portion of the interview posted on FORA.tv. You can check out the entire thing below or, if you’d rather just skip to the Star Wars section, go to the 7:18 mark.
