After 25 years, Twin Peaks is back! The cult classic show that stands above all other cult classics is returning for an 18-part revival on Showtime. We saw plenty of pictures of returning cast members recently, but still almost next to nothing is known about the anticipated come back. Legendary auteur David Lynch sure as hell isn't giving anything away, and even his actors don't fully understand what everyone is doing! Here's how Lynch directed his actors while keeping the art of the mystery alive.
There isn't really a need to have everybody read the whole script. So they get their scenes. And when we work together, they ask many questions, and they get answers. People get what they need.
Twin Peaks has never been your everyday show, frequently dabbling in demons, alternate dimensions, and really delicious pie. Due to the mystery nature of the show, spoilers are a pretty big no-no, and it makes so much sense that not even the actors of the revival were clued into the whole story. An illuminating Twin Peaks profile for GQ covered all things David Lynch and his upcoming revival, during which he shared this broken-story approach to informing his actors.
Newcomers to Twin Peaks like Jim Belushi, Michael Cera, Robert Forster, Sky Ferreira, and Naomi Watts were hand-delivered scripts with the pages blacked out, and they only found out where they were meant to be filming just before it happened. From there, Lynch would mostly direct with simple notes, only giving people what they need to be able to perform the scene. Belushi, for example, got extensive notes on how his character likes his coffee, while Watts was told to "go out there and ya grab 'em by the balls and ya just chew 'em out" during an action scene against big guys. As Lynch says, he gives them what they need.
The Twin Peaks revival will include 18 episodes, each one directed by David Lynch himself. The revival is said to have been conceived as one long movie, and will feature an absolutely massive cast of people. As far as returning cast members go, almost all of them are back including, Kyle MacLachlan (Agent Dale Cooper), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), Madchen Amick (Shelly Johnson), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), James Marshall (James Hurley), Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings), Everett McGill (Ed Hurley), Wendy Robie (Nadine Hurley), and Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer). As for the plot, your guess is as good as ours.
Twin Peaks returns on May 21 on Showtime, with the premiere kicking off at . If you'd like to more about the show, here's What We Know So Far about the revival. To learn more about all the upcoming shows of the season, check out our midseason and summer premiere schedules!
