David Lynch, the auteur known for surreal masterpieces like Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, has long been celebrated not just for his unsettling films but for his own eccentric persona. Unlike many directors who appear ordinary off-camera, Lynch’s peculiarities only deepened his mythos, making him cinema’s beloved oddball uncle. So it’s no surprise that his interactions with the equally enigmatic Michael Jackson—the King of Pop and a figure equally shrouded in mystique—were, fittingly, bizarre.

Lynch and Jackson, though both famously “weird,” were worlds apart in their approaches and personalities. Their encounters, two in number, couldn’t have been more different—or more peculiar.

The Sweet Scam That Wasn’t

The first tale Lynch tells is almost comically bleak. Lynch believed he was investing $5,000 in a candy company called Chewy Nougats—allegedly backed by Michael Jackson himself. The filmmaker never saw that money again. Whether or not Jackson was truly involved remains unclear, but the story is quintessentially Lynchian: a quirky misstep wrapped in self-deprecating humor. Handing over thousands to chase a sugary dream with the King of Pop? Only Lynch could make that sound normal.

The Strange Music Video Shoot

Their second encounter was more directly connected to their crafts. Michael Jackson famously hired heavyweight Hollywood directors to helm his music videos—from John Landis to Martin Scorsese. Lynch joined this elite roster but only directed a brief, 30-second teaser for Jackson’s Dangerous album.

Despite Lynch’s reputation for deep, often lengthy filmmaking processes, he was utterly baffled by the shoot’s extreme makeup routine. “All Michael had to do was stand in one place for a few minutes, but he was in makeup for eight or ten hours,” Lynch remarked. “How could someone be in makeup for ten hours? It’s someone very critical of their looks.” That understated observation hits at the heart of Jackson’s famously meticulous self-image.

The actual filming was swift—“one minute later he was done,” Lynch said, marveling at the stark contrast between the painstaking preparation and the fleeting execution. Lynch’s meditative patience met Jackson’s perfectionism head-on, resulting in an encounter marked by waiting and wonder.

A Peculiar Bond

David Lynch’s orbit around Michael Jackson was brief yet bizarre—twice crossing paths through a possible candy investment and a protracted makeup session for a minute-long shoot. These odd experiences underscore the surreal nature of their worlds colliding: two enigmatic figures, each operating on their own plane of reality.

In the end, their story is less about collaboration and more a testament to the strange intersections between creative geniuses—where business deals go awry and hours of makeup lead to seconds of fame. For Lynch, the relationship remains a curious footnote in his extraordinary career, perfectly in tune with the weirdness that defines both men.