Finding the Silver Lining.(David Lynch)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Three years ago director David Lynch pitched a television series called "Mulholland Drive" to ABC, the American TV network. Like "Twin Peaks," Lynch's wildly successful series of a decade ago, "Mulholland Drive" was surreal, esoteric and very sexy. A sultry brunette named Rita suffers from amnesia following a car crash on the famed twisting road in the Hollywood Hills. With the help of a blond starlet, Rita tries to figure out who she is and why people are trying to kill her. ABC advanced Lynch a staggering $4.5 million to make the pilot. But when it was finished, squeamish television executives axed the series from their fall lineup. French producer Alain Sarde came to the rescue, agreeing to release "Mulholland Drive" as a feature film. Lynch--best known for his movies "Blue Velvet," "Wild at Heart" and "The Elephant Man"--shot new footage and went back into the editing room. The final version premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where the jury awarded Lynch the best-director prize. Already playing in America, it is opening across Europe beginning this month. Lynch spoke to NEWSWEEK's Dana Thomas. Excerpts:

THOMAS: Why isn't "Mulholland Drive" on television?

LYNCH: Well, I don't know. They never told me why it wasn't. They never called me. Never sent me a little postcard.

They don't love you anymore.

They don't.

Has the rejection turned into a blessing somehow?

How big is big, in terms of blessings? We don't know sometimes if a setback is really a setback. It may be an opportunity for something else. You think something has gone wrong, but looking back, it was a fantastic point where [you] turned and went to a place that was much better. This is a beautiful thing for me.