Variety wrote:
‘Twin Peaks': Showtime, Others Work to Bring David Lynch Back
Cynthia Littleton
Managing Editor: Television
@Variety_Cynthia
The fate of the “Twin Peaks” revival is still up in the air but efforts to get the project back on track with David Lynch on board as director are said to be intensifying.
Showtime topper David Nevins has reached out to Lynch directly to discuss the impasse over the series budget. Others connected to the project have been trying to find creative solutions that would allow Lynch to rejoin the fold.
Plans for Lynch and “Twin Peaks” co-creator Mark Frost to produce a sequel to the original ABC series were thrown in doubt Sunday after Lynch announced via Twitter that he was quitting the project over budget issues.
The situation with the famously eccentric director has been complicated by what sources say was the fact that Lynch had not been in contact with his longtime lawyer, Tom Hansen of Hansen Jacobson, before announcing his decision to depart. He is not believed to be repped by an agent or manager at the moment.
Hansen could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday evening.
Showtime announced in October plans to produce nine new episodes of “Twin Peaks,” picking up where the cult-fave ABC series left off in 1991. Showtime set a production deal directly with Frost and Lynch, who control the rights to the series — a rarity for writers even back in the days of the original series.
The tussle over the budget emerged after Lynch and Frost turned in the nine scripts they co-wrote and it became clear that the cost of production would be significantly higher than the budgets outlined in the original deal. Sources said Showtime was willing to kick in more coin but asked for concessions in other areas, including the profit participation definitions for Lynch and Frost.
Lynch had been on board to direct all nine episodes. Frost is said to be committed to the project and was also taken by surprise by Lynch’s public statements.
Showtime is understood to be wary of proceeding without Lynch out of concern that the show’s hard-core fans would trash any effort to produce a sequel series without him, even though he has already co-written the nine scripts.
A “Save Twin Peaks” petition has been circulating on the Internet, and on Wednesday some actors from the original series posted a video blasting the notion of “Twin Peaks” returning without Lynch at the helm. However, the list did not include the series’ leading man, Kyle MacLachlan, who is confirmed to star in the revival.
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