FIRE WALK WITH ME script

[David Locke]

I'm not sure if the Norwegian dinner would fit in with the rest of FWWM tonally, though I certainly do like it. I think the only Missing Pieces that I'd really put back into FWWM would be:
1) Laura at the Haywards's
2) Leland glaring demonically at Laura, who's hiding in the bushes on her final night; the way FWWM cuts from Laura in the bushes to Laura seeing James and getting on his bike always felt a little choppy to me

And maybe a small one, like the Log Lady's sorrowful moonlit reaction.

I would definitely not add in the Buenos Aires stuff, though; though it's good as a scene, in the film it'd feel like far too much of a diversion. Likewise, I think the MP cut of the Bowie/convenience store sequence may be better than the theatrical, but I think putting it all it would risk seeming like "too much." Actually the way the convenience store/Bowie scene plays out in FWWM is very effective because of its briefness and incomprehensibility; it sort of becomes less "weird" the more we zoom in on it.

On a similar note -- though I adore all of FWWM, very much including the first ~40 minutes, I do wonder what a fan-edit would look like which basically cut off the opening prologue. The film would then start at the Twin Peaks sign / as Laura walks to school, and would then have many of the more relevant and memorable Missing Pieces inserted for its remainder (which would excise the Coop/Albert scene also). It'd be a much more focused film, and a less "messy" one I suppose, but ultimately I love FWWM as it is regardless and I'm not typically the type to enthuse about or even watch fan-edits. I do think that Coop/Albert scene is kind of unnecessary though, and feels very much like something that'd be at home among the Missing Pieces, as a deleted scene which is interesting but not particularly necessary (and somewhat breaks up the Laura-centric flow of the film).

The thing is, though, that FWWM is fundamentally a "messy" film in a structural sense... and, well, that's OK. It's a film which straddles two narrative worlds -- that of the FBI, including Coop, and that of Laura's last days -- and the two are so tightly entwined at times that you can't simply remove the FBI stuff, for instance. I mean, even if you took out the prologue and Coop/Albert scene, you still have Coop standing by Laura at the end, Coop in the RR/saying not to take the ring, and Annie's dialogue. Maybe you could say that ideally it wouldn't have any of this either but I think most of these scenes and all the loose ends and strange detours of FWWM only make it more unique and intriguing.

[laughingpinecone]

I wouldn't know how to reconcile this with a more cohesive structure (for any given value of cohesiveness), but for me, the Banks investigation is important for its brief reprise later on, among other things. Laura solves her own case and that's such a crucial aspect of TP for me. And Laura also gets closer glimpses into Teresa's case than the FBI agents ever manage to. I think that's important too.

[btaw]

I'm not sure if the Norwegian dinner would fit in with the rest of FWWM tonally, though I certainly do like it. I think the only Missing Pieces that I'd really put back into FWWM would be:
1) Laura at the Haywards's
2) Leland glaring demonically at Laura, who's hiding in the bushes on her final night; the way FWWM cuts from Laura in the bushes to Laura seeing James and getting on his bike always felt a little choppy to me

I actually find that scene to be one of the most difficult of the whole series. It feels clear to me that by that point in the proceedings everyone in the room *knows* exactly what is going on with Laura. But very soon after Doc Hayward (and Donna I suppose) is a babe in the woods about the whole situation.

I find myself screaming at the TV - 'You knew!!!' - throughout that whole sequence.

[Mr. Reindeer]

I'm not sure if the Norwegian dinner would fit in with the rest of FWWM tonally, though I certainly do like it. I think the only Missing Pieces that I'd really put back into FWWM would be:
1) Laura at the Haywards's
2) Leland glaring demonically at Laura, who's hiding in the bushes on her final night; the way FWWM cuts from Laura in the bushes to Laura seeing James and getting on his bike always felt a little choppy to me

I actually find that scene to be one of the most difficult of the whole series. It feels clear to me that by that point in the proceedings everyone in the room *knows* exactly what is going on with Laura. But very soon after Doc Hayward (and Donna I suppose) is a babe in the woods about the whole situation.

I find myself screaming at the TV - 'You knew!!!' - throughout that whole sequence.

I had a similar reaction. It's especially weird because Will is so friendly with Leland on the show. The only way to reconcile it is to assume that Will definitely knew there was trouble at home between Laura and her father (that much is obvious from Laura's very chilly reaction to Leland on the phone), and that Laura is going through a patch of depression, but not necessarily that abuse is going on. I suppose it could also be rationalized as willfull blindness on the Haywards' part (much like the way Sarah chooses -- probably unconsciously -- not to acknowledge what is going on). That would certainly be sadly realistic to the way many communities deal with (or don't deal with) these types of situations, but I'd prefer not to think that of Dr Hayward, as it goes against everything we know of the character.

[N. Needleman]

That scene in the Missing Pieces is crucial and no mistake on Lynch's part, I'm sure. It seems to clearly suggest the Haywards either strongly suspected or at least knew something was off. And that's very real.

I would've liked that scene to potentially be in, along with Desmond's fight with Cable, but overall while I like all the Missing Pieces (Ed and Norma's scene is especially fantastic) I'm happy with the film as is.

[Dalai Cooper]

Yeah the collective guilt of the community is a major theme throughout TP, as is its repression - think of bobby's outburst at the funeral, and also of the complete lack of impact of same (past James's tantrum - bopper clearly struck a nerve with him at least); in fact, the next thing we see is bobby's secret girlfriend yukking it up about leland's display of grief. The difference between these two scenes is like a microcosm of the break that happens sometime in those three days between leland's death and his wacky wake. Yeah, Hayward knew; I think everyone who was really close to Laura knew, deep down. I like this scene because it complicates hayward's status as the Good Man of twin peaks, although it doesn't override it entirely, and it makes his interactions with Ben at the end of s2 a lot more interesting in retrospect: ben's conversion might be hollow and self-serving, but is will's insistence on keeping potentially disruptive secrets buried any less toxic, given what we now know?

[Snailhead]

I too am very happy with the film as is, however there are a few scenes I would have included:

- Laura and the ceiling fan, with the terrifying grin that slowly develops. I thought that it was more effective at showing Bob's control on her than anything else.

- The full convenience store / lodge spirits scene, plus the part in the FBI office where Jeffries puts down his head and cries in pain (Though I wouldn't have used any of the Buenos Aires scenes)

- Laura at the Haywards (though not the muffin part on the front step at the end)

- Leland looking at Laura as she waits for James.

- Log Lady crying during the murder.

I love the Ed/Norma car scene and the Palmer dinner scene where they speak in Norwegian, however I don't think they would work in context.

Now if I were to cut anything from the original cut, definitely the Leo/Shelly scene. I hate to say it, but the acting and directing in that scene is pretty weak.

[Ross]

- Laura at the Haywards (though not the muffin part on the front step at the end)

The ending bit might just be Sheryl Lee's most heartbreaking moment IMO.

[Fashion Suicide]

- Laura at the Haywards (though not the muffin part on the front step at the end)

The ending bit might just be Sheryl Lee's most heartbreaking moment IMO.

Agreed. That scene was deeply moving.

Personally, i'm fine with none of the missing pieces-scenes being in FWWM. After seeing the missing pieces-scenes, they kind of feel like a part of FWWM to me anyway. I love every single scene.

[N. Needleman]

Yeah, I'd also add Laura and the fan and Laura in the bushes being stared at by Leland/BOB. But other than the Haywards (and the Desmond/Cable fistfight, and maaaaybe the scene with Cooper and Sam Stanley) that's about it.

[Gabriel]

I think the main (really, the only) structural problem with FWWM is the first half-hour. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad those characters were introduced into the TP world (especially Carl Rodd), and I'm even grateful for the extra glimpses we get of them in The Missing Pieces (Stanley interacting with Cooper!). It made me sad while rewatching the film to think that the existing footage of Chet & Sam is apparently all we'll ever see of them. That being said, though, Lynch's films typically feel very unified -- often, the ending brings us right back to the beginning (or the beginning hints at the ending), e.g., Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive (with the red pillow). FWWM is the sore thumb anomaly. Yes, it begins and ends with a Bob murder victim floating in a river, but there's a dramatic shift in POV from the first half-hour to the rest of the film (we're jarringly yanked from the shoes of the investigator and jammed into the shoes of the victim) -- it doesn't feel of a piece thematically.

That, coupled with the fact that we don't see a character from the TV series who isn't played by Lynch himself until 27 minutes in (and don't see the main character of the film until the 33 minute mark) makes the opening sequence feel like a very prolonged prologue which detracts from the film itself as a unified work (although, as I said, I do love those characters and feel they contribute immensely to the TP franchise as a whole). Ideally, in today's world, the adventures of Chet & Sam would have been a webisode tie-in to the movie.

I think some trimming to the opening could have allowed Lynch to include the Norwegian dinner scene, as well as more Sarah material from the Missing Pieces -- Zabriskie is woefully underutilized in the finished film. (I adore the little moment in the Missing Pieces where Sarah slams the piano in frustration over her disconnect from her daughter, and a spark explodes from her cigarette.)

I agree. Really, it might have been better to split FWWM into two movies: the Teresa Banks investigation and the Laura Palmer story. I understand the reasoning for such a massive cutdown of the shot material because Lynch obviously wanted the focus to be on Laura's final battle against Bob. The screenplay is more of an expansive piece about the Twin Peaks ensemble with particular focus on Laura, rather than about Laura's tragedy specifically.

Some of the cameos amount to fan service, with characters seemingly being 'just there' and leading to what feels like Arrested Development season four syndrome, where sometimes you feel like an actor had a day off from whatever else they were working on and dropped in to the set for a laugh

Laura's diary had a lot of elements in it about the town that I had hoped to see that weren't exploited. We read about the orgy cult, for example, with (presumably) Jerry Horne in attendance and a much more sinister Josie Packard and her interactions with Laura. I'd have liked to seen Joan Chen play the full-blown seductress who makes a Laura confide in her diary that, whatever good she tries to do, she always gets f***ed.

At the end of the day, given what was shot, it was probably better to keep the Missing Pieces separate, but one can't help but wonder how FWWM might have turned out with the odd change here and there. Imagine Kyle had agreed to play Cooper properly in FWWM, for example. There's scope for a great feature film where Coop and Sam fail to solve Teresa's murder but their investigation leads to a whole other adventure taking place. The Laura's story is something separate. Perhaps the Laura film would open with Coop's scene in the Black Lodge with TLMFAP.

Oh well, speculation aside, I still love FWWM. I saw it on he first screening at my local cinema the day it came out. I half wonder if the knackered print used at the BFI screen decades later was the same one!

I've had a Word document of the script for about 15 years. I still like reading it!

[N. Needleman]

I love the Deer Meadow prologue. I think it's essential and I'd never cut it.

[Gabriel]

I love the Deer Meadow prologue. I think it's essential and I'd never cut it.

Yep. I would have been happy to see a whole Deer Meadow movie. Sheriff Cable was awesome; there have been plenty of uncooperative local lawmen in the past and since, but Sheriff Cable is the single greatest uncooperative lawman in cinematic history.

How do I think he got the job? I reckon he was put in jail for murder by the previous sheriff in Deer Meadow, but Cable bent the steel bars of the jail cell, climbed out and killed the sheriff. As a result, the townsfolk made him the head local lawman.

[David Locke]

I love the Deer Meadow prologue. I think it's essential and I'd never cut it.

Yep. I would have been happy to see a whole Deer Meadow movie. Sheriff Cable was awesome; there have been plenty of uncooperative local lawmen in the past and since, but Sheriff Cable is the single greatest uncooperative lawman in cinematic history.

How do I think he got the job? I reckon he was put in jail for murder by the previous sheriff in Deer Meadow, but Cable bent the steel bars of the jail cell, climbed out and killed the sheriff. As a result, the townsfolk made him the head local lawman.

LOL that's great. Another smaller detail I like is how the DM sherriff's station is literally just a converted house -- look at Cable's "office" or the hallway leading to it, his office is actually just a regular bedroom. Kind of subtly makes you feel disoriented and "off."

[claaa7]

I too am very happy with the film as is, however there are a few scenes I would have included:

- Laura and the ceiling fan, with the terrifying grin that slowly develops. I thought that it was more effective at showing Bob's control on her than anything else.

This scene really mesmerized me as well and i at first too really wished it would have been included in the Movie.. the more i've reflected upon it i've came to the conclusion that it is a scene recreated digitally especially for the "Missing Pieces" feature rather than something actually created for inclusion back in 1991/1992. it's much more in line with Lynch's later work post 2002 (DavidLynch.com, "Inland Empire") than anything from the earlier years. it's a brilliant (and scary) shot though!!