Hollywood pays tribute to David Lynch: ‘A singular, visionary dreamer’

Steven Spielberg, Naomi Watts, Nicolas Cage, Kyle MacLachlan and others share their respects for film-maker who died this week at 78 

Actors and directors have been paying tribute to the director David Lynch, who died this week at the age of 78.

The death of Lynch, whose works include Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, was announced by his family on Facebook earlier on Thursday. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” they wrote. “But, as he would say: ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’”

Steven Spielberg, who cast Lynch as John Ford in his semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans praised him as “a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade” in a statement.

 Actor Vince Vaughn's use of the word 'gay' as an insult in the new Ron Howard movie, The Dilemma, has sparked a row. Photograph: Danny Moloshok/AP

Row over Vince Vaughn's 'gay insult' in Ron Howard film

Offending scene cut from online versions of trailer for The Dilemma after gay pressure group protests

Ben Child

Wed 13 Oct 2010

The US release of Oscar-winning director Ron Howard's new comedy, The Dilemma, has been overshadowed by a row over a scene in which star Vince Vaughn uses the word "gay" as an insult.

CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper first raised the issue on his TV show, Anderson Cooper 360°, after viewing a trailer for the movie which features the scene. Pressure group the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) followed up on Monday by urging its supporters to contact studio Universal and demand that the "offensive" promo be removed from cinemas.

The offending scene, which has now been cut from online versions of the trailer, sees Vaughn in a boardroom delivering a presentation about electric cars. He tells his colleagues: "Electric cars are gay. I mean, not homosexual gay, but my-parents-are-chaperoning-the-dance gay."

GLAAD itself has also come in for criticism over its handling of the affair, with some suggesting that the body moved too slowly to take Universal to task and is too close to the media organisations it was set up to monitor.

The Dilemma sees Vaughn as a man who is unsure if he should tell his best friend and business partner (Kevin James) that his wife (Winona Ryder) is cheating on him. It is due to arrive in cinemas in the US in January.

THE GUARDIAN