Home Entertainment How David Lynch’s surprise affinity with fast food chain Bob’s Big Boy inspired his greatest cinematic works

How David Lynch’s surprise affinity with fast food chain Bob’s Big Boy inspired his greatest cinematic works

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The death of Hollywood icon David Lynch at age 78 shocked the entertainment world last week.

The death of Hollywood icon David Lynch at age 78 shocked the entertainment world last week.

The filmmaker changed the scope of film and television with surreal classics including Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, with the star never forgetting the unlikely role of fast-food chain Bob’s Big Boy in his creative process.

Lynch became a familiar face at the restaurant’s Burbank, California branch in the ’70s, the decade her 1977 debut Eraserhead would be released.

His writing routine saw him enjoying coffee and an iced chocolate milkshake at 2.30pm, with the resulting “hit of sugar and caffeine” driving him to write.

Many of its dramatic and twisting plots began life scruffy on the napkins of American diners.

In Lynch’s 2007 book Catching the Big Fish, which focused on his belief in transcendental meditation, he said that Bob’s big boy gave him ‘security’ while he dreamed up his neo-noir stories.

The death of Hollywood icon David Lynch at age 78 shocked the entertainment world last week.

The Maverick filmmaker changed the scope of film and television and notably credited the unlikely fast-food role Bob's Big Boy played in his creative process, playing in the Burbank branch with John Waters in 1977.

The Maverick filmmaker changed the scope of film and television and notably credited the unlikely fast-food role Bob’s Big Boy played in his creative process, playing in the Burbank branch with John Waters in 1977.

He wrote: ‘I used to go to Bob’s Big Boy restaurant almost every day from the mid-seventies to the early eighties. I would have a smoothie and sit and think.

‘There is a security in thinking about a restaurant. You can have your coffee or your smoothie, and you can go to strange dark areas and always come back to the safety of the restaurant.’

It was inevitable that Bob’s real-life clientele would inspire one of Lynch’s gritty on-screen characters.

Lynch revealed that a client sparked the creation of Blue Velvet’s violent drug dealer antagonist Frank Booth, who was played by Dennis Hopper in the 1986 film.

He told THR: ‘One day, though at Bob’s, I saw a man come in, and he walked in the counter, and that’s all I remember about this man. But seeing it came a feeling, and that’s where Frank Booth came from.

Bob was even the unlikely setting for his first ‘chemistry lunch’ between future Velvet Blue stars Kyle Maclachlan and Laura Dern.

Jurassic Park star Dern told W magazine of the informal meeting in 2019: ‘I got a call that he wanted to meet me at Bob’s Big Boy to see if Kyle Maclachlan and I could get along or something. It was like a chemistry lunch.

‘And so, the three of us had lunch at Bob’s Big Boy, and the rest is history. We ordered malts and fries and David was doodling on napkins while Kyle scribbled with a knife in his tomato sauce.

Lynch became a familiar face at the restaurant's Burbank, California branch (pictured) in the 1970s, the 1977 debut Eraserhead would be released. His routine saw him dine on coffee and a chocolate shake at 2.30 p.m.

Lynch became a familiar face at the restaurant’s Burbank, California branch (pictured) in the 1970s, the 1977 debut Eraserhead would be released. His routine saw him dine on coffee and a chocolate shake at 2.30 p.m.

The five-foot Big Boy statue in Burbank has become a shrine to Lynch, with fans leaving red roses, candles, cigarettes, coffee cups and Coke bottles.

The five-foot Big Boy statue in Burbank has become a shrine to Lynch, with fans leaving red roses, candles, cigarettes, coffee cups and Coke bottles.

Slices of cake, donuts and cigarettes were seen along with tributes to Lynch

Slices of cake, donuts and cigarettes were seen along with tributes to Lynch

Bob was even the unlikely setting for his first 'chemistry lunch' between future Velvet Blue stars Kyle Maclachlan and Laura Dern. Dern told W magazine of the chance meeting in 2019:

Bob was even the unlikely setting for his first ‘chemistry lunch’ between future Velvet Blue stars Kyle Maclachlan and Laura Dern. Dern told W magazine of the chance meeting in 2019: “We ordered malts and fries,” in the 1986 film

It was inevitable that Bob's real-life clientele would inspire one of Lynch's gritty on-screen characters. Lynch revealed that a client sparked the creation of Blue Velvet's violent drug dealer antagonist Frank Booth, who was played by Dennis Hopper, seen with Dean Stockwell

It was inevitable that Bob’s real-life clientele would inspire one of Lynch’s gritty on-screen characters. Lynch revealed that a client sparked the creation of Blue Velvet’s violent drug dealer antagonist Frank Booth, who was played by Dennis Hopper, seen with Dean Stockwell

‘And I mean, a girl goes, these are really strange men and they’re soulmates, or I’m in love with these two people and I want to spend the rest of my life with them,’ that’s how I responded.

In 2015, Lynch revealed in a Bob’s Big Boy YouTube video that he visited the Burbank branch ‘for seven years every day at 2.30 pm after lunch’ to order a chocolate shake with a cup of coffee.

He said: “I stopped going there, went up to the dumpster and found one of the smoothie cartons and every ingredient ended up in “zine” or “eight”, there was nothing natural near that garden.”

Such is Lynch’s influence on the restaurant, a framed photo of him sits inside alongside photos of Maclachlan and Dern.

The affinity between Lynch and Bob’s film fans brings coffee and chocolate milkshakes to the star after his death.

The five-foot Big Boy statue became a shrine to Lynch, with fans leaving red roses, candles, cigarettes, coffee cups and Coke bottles.

Fans wore clothing inspired by his works, including Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, with studio employees working nearby also raising a glass for Lynch at Bob’s.

While Lynch indulged in Bob’s, the rest of his diet was noticeably healthier and stricter.

In a 2001 interview with LA Weekly, Lynch said: “Now, I have cappuccino in the morning, lots of coffees throughout the day, and salad that is put on a cooker so every bite tastes the same,” he said.

‘No meat. This has nuts and eggs and some lettuce and different types of vegetables. So it’s a little bowl of Cuisinart salad with Parmesan cheese on top,’ he said of his midday meal.

Lynch appears with Laura Dern in Los Angeles in May 2017

Lynch appears with Laura Dern in Los Angeles in May 2017

Such is Lynch's influence on the restaurant, a framed photo of him sits inside alongside photos of Maclachlan and Dern, pictured with Maclachlan in 2017

Such is Lynch’s influence on the restaurant, a framed photo of him sits inside alongside photos of Maclachlan and Dern, pictured with Maclachlan in 2017

“And then at night I have a block of Parmesan cheese, maybe a 2-inch cube, and red wine.”

Lynch died after a long battle with emphysema.

After earning Oscar nominations for directing Elephant Man and Blue Velvet, the versatile and flamboyant writer-director changed the television landscape with his breakout series Twin Peaks, a thriller about an FBI agent who travels to a small town to investigate a death. of a prom of a prom. queen.

The mystical mystery series won two Emmys during its three seasons.

After his 2006 film Inland Empire, a spooky story about an actress who begins to adopt the persona of her movie character with nightmarish results, the prolific writer-director began focusing on short films and videos written, produced and directed by Lynch. .

It wasn’t until 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return that he sold a major project to a network at Studio. All 18 episodes of the sequel, starring Dern and Twin Peaks veteran Maclachlan, were shown on Showtime.

Lynch is survived by his wife Emily Stofle, and three children Jennifer Lynch, Austin Jack Lynch and Riley Lynch.

In an interview with Sight & Sound in August, Lynch said he got the disease “from smoking for so long.”

Lynch said: ‘I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before coming off oxygen.

The Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks director got real as he said his love for cigarettes put him in this position.

Twin Peaks developed a cult following its run on ABC, which later resulted in the 1992 prequel feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk. In 2017, Lynch's franchise returned with Twin Peaks: The Return. - Pictured with Sherilynn Fenn on the show

Twin Peaks developed a cult following its run on ABC, which later resulted in the 1992 prequel feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk. In 2017, Lynch’s franchise returned with Twin Peaks: The Return. – Pictured with Sherilynn Fenn on the show

Lynch said: ‘Smoking was something I loved, but in the end, it bit me.

‘It was part of artistic life for me: the tobacco and the smell, and lighting things and smoking and coming back and sitting and having a smoke and looking at your work, or thinking about things.

‘Nothing like this in this world is so beautiful. Meanwhile, it’s killing me. So I had to quit smoking.

In November, he told people he required supplemental oxygen for most activities and could “barely walk across a room.”

“It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head,” he said of his battle with emphysema.

Despite having no regrets, Lynch hopes his devastating health update will encourage other smokers to quit.

He also told The Outlet: ‘Think about it. You can leave these things that will end up killing you.

Lynch admitted there had been a “big price to pay” for his lifelong habit, but said he had no regrets.

By the time he gave up cigarettes, the father of four could “barely move without gasping for air.”

“Leaving was my only option,” he said.

His most recent major project before his health problems was the revival of his series Twin Peaks for Showtime in 2017.

The original series had run from 1990 to 1991, as it followed the investigation into the murder of Homecoming queen Laura Palmer (played by Sheryl Lee) when it took place in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington.

When it first aired in the early 1990s, the series had developed a cult following after its run on ABC, which later resulted in the 1992 prequel feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk.

For two decades, Lynch’s signature franchise returned with Twin Peaks: The Return.

In an interview with Sight & Sound in August, Lynch said he got emphysema

In an interview with Sight & Sound in August, Lynch said he got emphysema “from smoking so long” (seen in 1984)

Some of Lynch's other projects included The Elephant Man (1980) and Mulholland Drive (previously seen in 2001 with Naomi Watts) and Inland Empire (2006).

Some of Lynch’s other projects included The Elephant Man (1980) and Mulholland Drive (previously seen in 2001 with Naomi Watts) and Inland Empire (2006).

Maclachlan, Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick, Lee and David Duchovny, who starred in the original, returned for the revival.

Other stars were also added to the mix, including Dern, Amanda Seyfried, Jessica Szohr, Michael Cera, Richard Chamberlain and Trent Reznor.

Lynch’s other projects included Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006).

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