Ronnie Rocket: 10 Things To Know About The Unproduced David Lynch Movie

Since David Lynch has made some bizarre movies throughout his career, from the psychological terror of Blue Velvet to the gonzo antics of Wild at Heart, it’s hard to imagine the iconic writer-director cooking up a project that would be too weird to garner interest. But in the ‘80s, despite his best efforts, Lynch couldn’t find a producer for his script about a detective’s interdimensional quest crossing over with the music career of an electrical little person.

The fact that Ronnie Rocket was never produced is one of the great tragedies of the movie buff community.

10 Lynch Planned To Make It As His Second Movie

David Lynch began developing Ronnie Rocket in the wake of Eraserhead’s success, so it would’ve been his second movie. The only thing more difficult than making a debut movie with a unique sensibility that stands out amongst the crowd and launches a filmmaking career is following it up with a sophomore effort that lives up to the first one.

When Ronnie Rocket fell through, Lynch instead made the powerful Joseph Merrick biopic The Elephant Man, which was praised by critics and audiences alike, so he still managed to live up to the promise of his debut movie, even though the project was a compromise.

9 The Script Was About A Detective Entering Another Dimension

Lynch’s script for Ronnie Rocket revolved around a detective who wanted to enter a strange second dimension by standing on one leg, all while pursued by the “Donut Men.”

In addition to the detective’s story, Ronnie Rocket would’ve told the story of a teenage dwarf who uses his ability to control electricity to become a rock star with the stage name “Ronnie Rocket” and falls in love with a tap dancer named Electra-Cute.

8 Dexter Fletcher Was Attached To Play The Lead Role

When David Lynch was casting Ronnie Rocket ahead of a shoot that ultimately wouldn’t take place, Dexter Fletcher was attached to play the lead role. In addition to his acting career, Fletcher went on to become a director in his own right.

Since making his directorial debut with Wild Bill, Fletcher has helmed such hits as Eddie the Eagle, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rocketman – and he’s been hired to direct Robert Downey, Jr. in Sherlock Holmes 3.

7 Scouting Locations Was Tricky

Visually, Ronnie Rocket was going to be in line with many of Lynch’s films, particularly Eraserhead, in its depiction of industrial landscapes – i.e. smokestacks and factories – and since this kind of industry was dying by the time Lynch developed the project in the 1980s, scouting filming locations was difficult.

The director traveled to northern England in search of shooting locations, but found that the industrial towns he wanted to use had all been modernized beyond recognition.

6 Lynch First Met Michael J. Anderson While Developing This Movie

Lynch’s script for Ronnie Rocket featured a character who was three feet tall and could control electricity. When the director was initially casting this role, he met with actor Michael J. Anderson.

Although Ronnie Rocket was ultimately unrealized, Anderson went on to become one of Lynch’s regular collaborators, playing the Man from Another Place in Twin Peaks and Mr. Roque in Mulholland Drive.

5 Jacques Tati Was A Major Influence On Lynch’s Vision

The work of French filmmaker Jacques Tati was a major influence on David Lynch’s vision for Ronnie Rocket. Although he’d shot Eraserhead in black-and-white and went on to shoot The Elephant Man in black-and-white, Lynch planned to shoot Ronnie Rocket in color.

If Lynch had actually gotten to shoot the film, he planned to spend a long time in the editing room experimenting with the colors to get the grading just right, inspired by the color work of Tati.

4 Many Of Lynch’s Frequent Collaborators Were Considered For Roles

During the decade or so that Lynch was developing Ronnie Rocket on and off, he considered many of his frequent collaborators for roles in the movie.

The actors include Brad Dourif, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nance, Isabella Rossellini, Harry Dean Stanton, and Dean Stockwell. While Ronnie Rocket never made it to screens, all of these actors have given terrific performances in other Lynch movies.

3 The Project Was Scrapped Because Lynch Couldn’t Secure Funding

Despite the success of his debut feature Eraserhead on the midnight movie circuit, Lynch was unable to secure the necessary funding to shoot Ronnie Rocket, so he eventually had to scrap the project.

Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope was attached to back the project at one point, but the studio filed for bankruptcy after the box office failure of One from the Heart, negating the deal.

2 Lynch Returned To The Project After Each Of His Films Until Blue Velvet

After shelving Ronnie Rocket to begin work on The Elephant Man, Lynch returned to the project and tried to get it made as his third film. Then, after each successive project, Lynch found himself coming back to Ronnie Rocket.

When even the success of Blue Velvet – a career comeback for Lynch – didn’t generate enough interest to get Ronnie Rocket produced, he gave up on the project for good.

1 The Movie Could Still See The Light Of Day

By the early 1990s, David Lynch had given up actively trying to get Ronnie Rocket produced. However, there are some Lynch fans with faith that the movie will eventually come to fruition all these years later. Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette offered to shoot the script, but believes that Lynch will get around to it one day.

The revival of Ronnie Rocket might just be a pipe dream among a few dedicated fans, but so was the fabled Snyder cut at one point and that ended up becoming a $70 million reality.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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