The director himself came off as almost performatively normal. Masterpieces like “Eraserhead” and “Mulholland Drive” said otherwise.

In his later life, Lynch charged into the digital frontier in his typically singular fashion. He used grainy digital video cameras to shoot the bizarre California epic Inland Empire mostly on his own dime;

The filmmaker, a spellbinder with some genuine masterworks to his credit, leaves behind more than mere flourishes. And as he once said about himself, you don’t have to be dark to show

Reactions from Hollywood were swift and heartfelt. Kyle MacLachlan, who became a star when Lynch cast him as Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune, Blue Velvet (1986), and the TV series Twin Peaks, described the director as "the most authentically alive person I'd ever met":

Kyle MacLachlan, Naomi Watts, Isabella Rossellini and other collaborators of David Lynch mourned the filmmaker's death on social media.

David Lynch revolutionized cinema - and now, Hollywood is paying tribute to the legendary auteur, who died Thursday at the age of 78. Lynch made his feature debut in 1977 with "Eraserhead,” and his expansive career included features "Mulholland Drive,