David Lynch Pulls Onto the ‘Lost Highway’ Entrance Ramp

The Scene: Fans of cinematic weirdness had much to celebrate Tuesday night. After a nearly five-year hiatus, the much-anticipated David Lynch oeuvre, “Lost Highway”--starring Bill Pullman, Balthazar Getty, Patricia Arquette, Robert Blake and Robert Loggia--premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The event, which also served as a benefit for American Cinematheque, drew actors, rock stars and groovers and shakers of every stripe. The screening was followed by a reception at the El Rey Theatre.

Who Was There: Showing up from the film were Lynch, actors Pullman, Getty, Blake, Giovanni Ribisi and Natasha Gregson Wagner. Filling out the Lynch group were Academy Award nominees Billy Bob Thornton and Brenda Blethyn, as well as Kevin Spacey, Vincent Gallo, Linda Fiorentino, Bill Paxton, Wim Wenders, Lukas Haas, Angie Harmon and Alanis Morissette. While Patricia Arquette was stuck on a fogged-in runway in Argentina, siblings Rosanna, David and Richmond made sure the family was well represented.

Fashion Statement: The femme fatale look predominated. Ladies in tight black dresses were everywhere, sporting dark, modified Betty Page ‘dos.

The Buzz: Total cult film. The word in the crowd, from those who had attended preview screenings, was, “You got to see it twice.” Others enjoyed the film’s bizarre, stilted dialogue, disorienting camera angles and the jarring soundtrack, but were mystified as to the meaning and purpose of some of the action--at least on first viewing. Said “Baywatch’s” Angie Harmon, “I was real proud of myself. I thought, ‘Yay, I got most of it.’ ”

Why We Were Here: “The American Cinematheque supports all kinds of films, and David Lynch is an icon of a genre of film that’s often neglected in Hollywood,” said spokeswoman Margot Gerber. The funds raised from $50-per-person tickets will go to the Cinematheque’s renovation of the Egyptian theater in Hollywood.

How Things Have Changed: “It used to be at a wrap party or this kind of party, there would be a lot of light on, there would be a lot of beer, a lot of booze, a lot of food, a lot of fat guys with cigars,” remarked onetime “Baretta” star Robert Blake. “Now it’s a whole different world. You got thin people. From the back, they all look alike. They’re all little quiet people, dressed dark, and they dip cucumbers in something. I feel like I belong in the La Brea Tar Pits.”