"
INLAND EMPIRE" (yes it's all caps, Lynch won't say why) is David Lynch's next feature which is currently in production. He's been working in secret on the project for the last two years.
Cast: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Harry Dean Stanton, & Justin Theroux
Music: Angelo Badalamenti
David and his wife Mary Sweeny are producing, with Mary doing the editing. Lynch is finacing the movie with his own resources, and Studio Canal is acting as worldwide distributor.
He has given up on film as a format, the movie is being shot on DV format, not sure what camera(s). He's already shot some footage in Poland as well as Southern California. All that is known about the story is that it is a mystery about a woman in trouble. "INLAND EMPIRE" supposedly refers to a bleak residential area of Los Angeles located on the outskirts of the desert.
Rumors:- A five minute DVD reel was shown at Cannes. It was described as people in rabbit costumes (or wearing rabbit heads). "It's great in a typical dark-weird Lynchian way. It feels like a cross between Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive."
- Studio Canal is hoping to get it released by next year's Cannes Film Festival
- Some scenes with Laura Dern & a 'hot Polish chick' were shot at Moriarty's (AICN) house about a year ago
- A few different sources have described sequences (or possibly the movie itself) as a 'film within a film'
- The website davidlynch.com has some part to play in the movie, possibly including segments of a series of web shorts called 'Rabbits' which stars Scott Coffey, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Rebekah del Rio (dressed in rabbit costumes).
- Sequence(s) shot in Poland with Laura Dern called 'Green Room in Lodz' may be included
David Lynch:
"It's about a woman in trouble, and it's a mystery, and that's about all I want to say about it."
"Making a film is a beautiful mystery. You go deep into the wood, and you don't want to come out of that wood, but the time is coming very soon when I will have to."
"I started working in DV for my Web site, and I fell in love with the medium. It's unbelievable, the freedom and the incredible different possibilities it affords, in shooting and in post-production."
"For me, there's no way back to film. I'm done with it. I love abstraction. Film is a beautiful medium, but it's very slow and you don't get a chance to try a lot of different things. With DV, you get those chances. And in post-production, if you can think it, you can do it."
"I'm writing as I go. I believe in the unity of things. When you have one part, and then a second part that doesn't relate to that first part, it's very curious to find that they do relate after all. It's a most beautiful thing."
"When you run out of film, you have to stop and reload, and during that time the heat sometimes goes off. But with this medium you can keep that heat, and it builds, and it's beautiful to see."
"[Laura Dern is] the most incredible actress. Some people get roles and do their thing, but some have a lot more inside and don't usually get the chance to show it."
"[The quality of the DV image] looks different. Some would say it looks bad. But it reminds me of early 35mm, that didn't have that tight grain. When you have a poor image, there's lots more room to dream."
"But I've done tests transferring DV to film, and there are all kinds of controls to dial in the look you want."
The real
Inland Empire
This region is a study in contrasts—rolling, grassy hills dotted by oaks, sycamores, and one of the largest remaining stands of Southern California black walnut trees, and a lake 3,350 feet high; a working citrus grove, and a tram that takes visitors in a matter of minutes from the high desert to a high-altitude forest wilderness area. 
