David Lynch says he will never retire – but he certainly won’t set foot on a film set again.

That was the news when the 78-year-old surrealist cult director revealed his diagnosis of emphysema to Sight and Sound magazine, leaving the life-long cigarette enjoyer homebound and left to the devices of his own abode.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking. I have to say that I enjoyed smoking very much, and I do love tobacco - the smell of it, lighting cigarettes on fire, smoking them - but there is a price to pay for this enjoyment, and the price for me is…

It is unfortunate that Lynch will never grace a film set again to craft another dream or nightmare, but he doesn’t have to. His is a legacy well-cemented, and it’s high time that beloved artists of the modern era are heralded and given their flowers before they’re no longer here. The tradition of the only good artist being a dead one is unhelpful, and cynical, and must truly be consigned to the old ways of thinking.

Roger Corman changed film and then the world with silly B-movies

Though it probably is not much of an ask to uplift the stature of Lynch given his popularity and massive cult following. He appeals not only to the serious arthouse crowd but also breaks the barrier into casual........

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