The Most Unforgettable Moments I’ve Experienced on a Film Set

EXCLUSIVE: The lead in David Lynch‘s Palme d’Or winning 1990 road trip adventure, Wild at Heart, Nicolas Cage shares that the departed director who passed away today, “was a unique creative mind in cinema, one of the most extraordinary artists of this or any era.”

“He was daring, brilliant, and an innovator with a delightful sense of humor,” Cage goes on, “I’ve never experienced more enjoyment on a film set than collaborating with David Lynch. He will forever be pure gold.”

In the film, which was filmed in New Orleans and Louisiana, Cage portrays an Elvis-like persona, Sailor, a former convict, freshly released from prison who reconnects with the love of his existence, Lula, portrayed by Laura Dern, who gained recognition in Lynch’s Blue Velvet. The complication in their lives remains Lula’s infamous mother (depicted by Dern’s real life mom Diane Ladd) who sends assassins and detectives after Sailor and Lula during their road journey to retrieve them. The film also featured Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Harry Dean Stanton, Blue Velvet actress and former Lynch partner Isabella Rossellini, along with Twin Peaks actors Sherilyn Fenn and Gracie Zabriskie.

Wild at Heart also catapulted rockabilly musician Chris Isaak into fame with the successful single “Wicked Game,” for which Lynch also directed the music video. “Wicked Game” achieved No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1991.

The film debuted at a pivotal moment for Lynch, subsequent to its Palme D’Or accolade and during the summer that followed the spring airing of the first season of Twin Peaks on ABC. Wild at Heart earned $14.5M at the domestic box office.

Wild at Heart received one Academy Award nomination for Diane Ladd (Dern’s mother) in Supporting Actress.