Every fandom, from Star Trek to The Prisoner and more, has a small-but-dedicated group of fans who dream stories beyond what appears in television or movies. Mark Frost and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is no exception. Once the original series ended in June 1991, some fans imagined what happened after Special Agent Dale Cooper left Room 315 at The Great Northern Hotel through imaginative fan fiction and passion plays. Today, that tradition continues with two long-time fans preparing two new fan films. But first, let’s take a journey back to the early 1990s.
TWIN PEAKS FAN FICTION AND FAN FILMS
It’s no surprise that some fans were captivated by the characters and stories from the wonderful and strange world of Twin Peaks. There had been nothing like it on television before it aired on April 8, 1990.
In the days before the World Wide Web, the alt.tv.twin-peaks newsgroup was a gathering place for fans to share their experiences with the show during that initial run. Thankfully an archive of 13,348 posts sent to the newsgroup is still available online. Theories, ideas and interesting conversation were shared in these posts as the mystery unfolded. The show definitely inspired people to dream of possibilities and various outcomes for the characters.
Three years after I discovered Twin Peaks in 1993, I attended my first (and only) Twin Peaks Fan Festival held in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington. During the event weekend from August 9-11, I joined a cast reading for Chris Matthews’ Twin Peaks-inspired play. I recall playing Dr. Jacoby which was a true delight as he was a favorite character at the time.
Other dreamers took to the internet to share their stories. One early Twin Peaks fan site is also still available at TwinPeaks.org. It launched on February 24, 1997, the “eighth anniversary of Laura Palmer’s death.” On the site, a directory contains “stories which involve twin-peaks characters no directly from the series or movie, but non-the-less [sic] inspired by them.”
Fan festivals continued in both Washington state and the United Kingdom from the 1990s through 2019. At several of these events, fans showcased their imaginative creations which had evolved from stage readings to full-scale productions.
The late Siobhan Sheilds from Edinburgh, Scotland made an incredibly creative, five-minute film titled Diane. First released in May 2015, this film was shown at both Twin Peaks Fan Festivals in the United States and United Kingdom.
Inspired by the “Diane … The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper,” the film imagines Diane (played by Naomi Shields) dutifully listening to the tapes of Agent Cooper.
It placed second during the 2016 Twin Peaks Fan Festival in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington.
One of my favorites is Thor Åmli’s “The Summer House at Pearl Lakes” which won first place at the 2017 fan festival in North Bend, Washington. The story explored Leland Palmer’s comment from the series about the summer home at Pearl Lakes where he first encountered BOB.
Another impressive undertaking was Charly Gautier’s “Laura Palmer – A Twin Peaks Fan Film.” With a two-person crew and one actor playing 14 characters, Gautier filmed in various locations throughout France, the Pyrénées mountains and even Spain to create their own atmosphere for this film. Twin Peaks Unwrapped spoke with Charly about the experience for their podcast in Nov. 2018.
In addition to films, there have been musical video satires such as this one inspired by Deputy Chad from Twin Peaks – The Return. Shot on location in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington, director and writer Steve Lange is joined by several Washington state fans for a humorous song about John Pirruccello’s character. I love how Steve took Michael Jackson’s “I’m Bad” and made this so good.
All of these fan films were created because the filmmakers genuinely love Lynch and Frost’s world of Twin Peaks. They are not designed to generate profit; they do it to express their creativity.
QUEEN OF HEARTS – A TWIN PEAKS FAN FILM
This brings me to Cameron Cloutier’s Queen of Hearts – A Twin Peaks Fan Film. First conceived in late 1992 and early 1993, Cameron spent three years working on bringing this film to life. Debuting in fall 2021, it’s an epic four-hour journey about Annie Blackburn, Dale Cooper, Windom and Caroline Earle and more set in the Twin Peaks universe. A resident of Monterey Peninsula, California, Cameron worked with several dedicated fans to bring his vision to life. The film was written and directed by Cloutier with Madison Bates serving as producer.
I first spoke with Cameron several years ago for his YouTube channel Obnoxious and Anonymous. We finally connected in person for the first time during the Real Twin Peaks 2024 event in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington. It was fitting our encounter took place outside the Twede’s Cafe, a place we both hold near to our hearts.
Flixchatter.net described the story for Queen of Hearts: “[The film] is both a prequel, starting with FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Nico Abiera) meeting his mentor Windom Earle (Paul Griffith Springer) and Earle’s wife (and Cooper’s eventual lover) Caroline (Charlotte Roi) and the fallout surrounding those relationships, as well as a sequel, following Annie Blackburn (Madison Bates) after her escape from the Black Lodge on a new mysterious and dangerous adventure.”
I love how Cameron and crew incorporated familiar film locations as seen in Twin Peaks (that’s a future location story waiting to happen).
I’m happy that Cameron got to meet Kyle MacLachlan this year at Salish Lodge where Kyle signed Cameron’s fan film poster (which was designed by the incredibly talented Maja Ljunggren). What a delightful surprise!
NEW DREAMS – BLACK ROSE AND TERESA WITH A “T”
Originally, Cameron thought Queen of Hearts would be his only Twin Peaks fan film. As he was editing the film during the global pandemic, he began thinking about ways to continue the story.
In summer 2023, Cameron spent time with filmmaker and long-time Twin Peaks fan Josh Eisenstadt. For decades, Josh has been a staple in the fan community – a walking encyclopedia of all things about Lynch and Frost’s worlds. He’s hosted film location tours and trivia games, held viewing parties at his home, spent time with numerous crew members and much more. He deeply cares about the “whole damn town” and the fans who enjoy as much as he does.
He also has a long list of credits tied to Twin Peaks including:
- Interviewed in “Reflections On The Phenomenon Of Twin Peaks” (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me DVD)
- Credited for conducting interviews for “Secrets From Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks”
- Seen onscreen hosting trivia in “Return to Twin Peaks” (Twin Peaks Definitive Gold Box DVD)
- Thanked in credits of “An Introduction to David Lynch” (Twin Peaks Season 1 DVD set), “Cast Interviews: Origin, Production, Legacy” (Twin Peaks Season 2 DVD set), “Moving Through Time: Fire Walk With Me Memories”, and the original Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me DVD hidden credits.
You can also find an easter egg of a trailer for Josh’s film Specter’s Rock the Twin Peaks Season 1 DVD set.
I was thrilled spending so much time with Josh during the Real Twin Peaks 2024 event this year. We had a blast and our conversations always left me feeling inspired to learn more.
Josh greatly enjoyed Queen of Hearts and said it was the best fan film made thus far (a pretty high complement). He encouraged Cameron to dream more and asked if he would ever consider making a follow up film.
Black Rose: A Twin Peaks Fan Film will again tell two interconnected stories. The first will focus on One Eyed Jacks, the Canadian casino and brothel seen in the first two seasons of the show. The other story will follow the still living characters from Queen of Hearts post Twin Peaks – The Return. The entire film will play as a “What If … ?” in the Twin Peaks universe.
Madison Bates will return in her redefining role as Annie Blackburn. The band, Wisteria Lodge (whom I adore!) is providing music.Millie Cupp will be working as an assistant director in Hollywood while Benjamin Oliver is returning again as the special effects maestro. Actor, singer and producer, Sheilava is also joining the crew.
Inspired by Queen of Hearts, Josh also had a dream of telling the story of Teresa Banks, who was played by the late Pamela Gidley in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. He wanted to make a haunting tribute to the life and times of the character who didn’t even make the local news when murdered.
Josh and Pamela became great friends before her untimely passing in April 2018. I was captivated by Pamela’s eyes in Lynch’s 1992 film as seen in this Love Letter. Josh spoke highly of their friendship and I imagine this is going to be a wonderful fan tribute to her character.
CROWDFUNDED FAN FILMS
Cameron and Josh launched a crowdfunding campaign for both films on Tuesday, May 14 via Indigogo.
All funding will be used for cameras, lights, crew, wardrobe, props, locations, studio rentals, set constructions, visual effects, choreographers, stunts, intimacy coordinators, sound recording, transportation, meals, insurance, cast and more. The more raised, the higher the production quality for each film.
You can follow the fan films on line at the following places:
Teresa With a “T” – A Twin Peaks Fan Film
Black Rose – A Twin Peaks Fan Film
I wish both Bookhouse Boys and their cast and crew much success on this adventure!
I don’t quite get the point of these. The 2014 series pretty much answered all the questions from the original, and wound down the story, though a lot of it made no more sense than the original. It’s just entertainment.
“Bob” from Twin Peaks.