it started badly, with poor Dave visibly nervous and shaking, and for a few horrible seconds no-one had the courage to ask him anything. then, out of nowhere, the well respected actor Tam Dean Burn stood up, and lulled him into a false sense of security by mentioning TM, how his partner would "benefit from it right now" and then proceeded to lay into David about his recent 5-day trip to Israel and questioned how on earth he thought TM could make any real political difference to Palestinians under the shadow of oppressive Israeli occupation etc. David regathered his thoughts and roused the crowd with a strongly positive non-answer about the benefits of TM for all humans, regardless of racial or political denomination.
the questions flowed for nearly the entire time about creativity and TM, so much so that i was itching to ask something about his actual films, which we were told was on offer - and a rare opportunity at that. finally, someone piped up and shouted (from near the back) to ask about the FWWM deleted scenes. as appears to be common now, DL explained calmly that he was well up for it, ready to go, and that it was absolutely in the hands on MK2 who own the rights. it was the clearest and most direct response he gave all night to any question, even if we aren't any wiser about the actual timescale involved in giving us what we are after. he did point out that the number of scenes was minimal, and not necessarily something to get so excited about, but he was generous with his reply.
then - a stroke of genius. with classic Glaswegian nonchalance, someone near me (at the back) stood up, and said "right - forget all this talk of deleted scenes, i want a straight answer - what happened to Agent Cooper? where's Annie?!" - which brought an enormous laugh, and DL simply replied "well, i'm asking the same question..."
it all went by too fast, and so many people wanted to ask questions that it wasn't really possible to butt in. i desperately wanted to ask him if he had been aware of Alejandro Jodorowsky's screenplay for "Dune" in advance of his preparations for the film, and if he had seen any of Jodo's films, and what he thought of them. but given that Jodo has been critical of Lynch's "Dune" before, and that DL always finds it painful to talk about that film, and especially after the opening question, i couldn't summon up the courage to do so.
he finished after a great session, not quite as unswervingly proselytizing as i thought he would be about TM, all carried off with great humour - esp. when someone asked what he thought of Quakers, and he told the tale of Mel Brooks saying someone once asked what the difference was between a Quaker and a Shaker, replying that a Quaker walked into a room with hands clasped in extreme reverence, and then demonstrating that a Shaker entered the same room undergoing extreme spasms - this was so funny to watch, but i guess you had to be there.
Donovan was then introduced, at which point me and my friends decided to leg it outdoors for a cigarette and avoid "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and other such atrocities. we stood outside reflecting on how entertaining it had been, and just as we were about to return inside to the bar, DL approached from around the corner. we were given the opportunity to shake him by the hand, and he was extremely gracious, as one would expect. i thanked him for coming, and said there were so many things i think people would have loved to have asked him about his films, but didn't get the opportunity...
so finally, i asked about the band Tractor who feature in "The Grandmother", and whether or not it was DL himself who made this music (which i love). he replied "no, it was my friend Ronnie Culbertson, and he had a band called Tractor, who had a deal going with Gamble and Huff - remember Gamble and Huff from Philadelphia? - and they were like Philadelphia's own kinda Motown, and they got a whole album completed - ready to go - and i did the artwork for em... and they pulled the plug on it." so i asked if the masters still existed or not. "i... i... i dunno.... i think so" - so naturally i asked if he could just try to push that out and release it... to which he replied "i dunno... yeah, i could try to push that out... it's got a good feel. Ronnie Culbertson is my friend who i met in Virginia, and he was playing guitar when he was 3 - a killer guitar player - but something happened in his life and he became a stonemason. Go figure."
maybe this isn't really of any interest to anyone on here, but it was just so good to have a genuine question to ask him and have a direct answer back, having spent the rest of the night hearing his (highly entertaining and infectious) chat about the benefits of TM. i do so wish people could have used the time to try and ask him more about his films, but one good question about which recent films / directors he found interesting was met with absolutely no response. he did, however, make the remark that he likes to watch Billy Wilder's "The Apartment" on New Year's Eve, every year
I was so happy I got to exchange words with him - even if in greeting - I was second-in-line to ask him a question before he finished up. But it seems the recent Lynch\Donavan trip was mostly the same... much of the questions directed at Lynch about TM rather then his movies. There was a really sweet moment at the Dublin Q & A, when he mentioned Kyle MacLachlan, and then Lynch paused, and leaned into the microphone, smiled and goes, "Y'know, Special Agent Dale Cooper." 
