Production for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me started on September 4, 1991 in Snoqualmie, Washington at the former Riverside Mobile Home Park serving as the Fat Trout Trailer Park. Before social media, mobile phones or the internet, newspapers, magazine articles and news broadcasts served as the primary way people found out the latest news from sets. During my research, I discovered a rather odd report first made by celebrity gossip columnist Marilyn Beck – an alleged altercation with Kiefer Sutherland delayed the filming of his scenes as Agent Sam Stanley. Did this actually happen in September 1991?
ALLEGED ALTERCATION ON THE SET OF TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
Traveling back to September 1991, there were a handful of official accounts recorded from the production of Lynch’s 1992 masterpiece. The Associated Press ran a syndicated article that appeared on September 4 announcing production starting in Snoqualmie Valley.
At the time, newspapers and television news was the primary way people learned about world happenings. Seattle resident Greg Olson saw a report on Seattle news on September 4 which prompted him to visit the small town of Snoqualmie the next day. His experience watching the production became an article in the November / December 1991 issue of Film Comment.
Uncovered much later, Charlotte Friasse had kept a shooting diary from production which was first published on Dugpa.com. It was transcribed by Adam Harding, yet the document is missing dates and details from the entire production. I’ve also learned shooting dates from newspaper articles, Wrapped in Plastic and other production documents.
On Friday, September 13, 1991, syndicated Hollywood columnist filed one of the first reports about the film following the initial news of the film production a week earlier. Before things like TMZ and “breaking news” on Twitter, Beck authored the Grapevine column in TV Guide from 1989 to 1992, which was fueled by celebrity gossip.
Titled “From the Inside Looking Out,” the brief syndicated column stated Kiefer Sutherland was supposedly in an altercation on location in Snoqualmie Valley.
“Sources in involved with the movie, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” report that these aren’t the best of days – still – for Kiefer Sutherland. Julia Roberts’ ex-fiance reportedly drove to Snoqualmie, Wash. to do a cameo in the picture, only to get into an altercation with a member of the troupe,” wrote Marilyn.
She continues by saying Sutherland’s publicist Annett Wolf and the Snoqualmie police department have heard nothing. But according to her sources, “the cameo had to be delayed until Kiefer’s facial wounds healed.”
Kiefer would return to Los Angeles, California the following week after shooting his scenes.
This wild report is something I found difficult to believe.
A WILD SUMMER IN 1991
Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts had a rather interesting summer that year. Three days before their wedding in June, the entire affair was called off. There were plenty of rumors why it ended and who called off the affair.
The couple had met about three years earlier on the set of the 1990 film Flatliners. At the time, Sutherland was married to Camelia Kath and they had with whom he had a 3-year-old daughter. Roberts was engaged to Steel Magnolias co-star Dylan McDermott. Kiefer filed for divorce and Roberts ended her engagement. You can read about the entire roller coaster of a relationship in this Ranker story.
On September 10, 1991, Kiefer spoke for the first time about the breakup with Roberts. It was part of an upcoming Details magazine interview in October 1991.
That night Barbara Walters re-ran her interview with Julia Roberts from earlier in the year on ABC Television.
Roberts’ interview was from a time before her engagement had ended with Sutherland. Perhaps Kiefer’s publicist wanted to get ahead of the rerun interview. It is difficult to say why it was published on Sept. 10, but Kiefer finally addressed the many rumors that had been floating all summer.
The timing of this story being published followed by the reports of the alleged altercation three days later is fascinating. As Agent Cooper said in Twin Peaks episode 1.004 – “When two separate events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object of inquiry, we must always pay strict attention.”
Could someone have been mad at Kiefer and made up the story? Was this a case of mistaken identity?
REPORTS DENIED BY LYNCH/FROST PRODUCTION
A week later on Friday, September 19, Marilyn published a follow up story.
The incident didn’t happen according to Ken Scherer, chief operating officer of Lynch / Frost Productions.
Ken insisted that Sutherland was not “involved in an altercation on location with ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’ and therefore there was no delay in shooting his scene.” Beck repeated her September 13 report by stating the actor got “punched out on the set of the movie and that his scene had to be pushed back until facial wounds healed.”
Kiefer had multiple scenes during the first 35 minutes of the film (more on that in a moment). I wonder if the “got punched out” note was referring to the infamous Missing Pieces fight scene between Sheriff Cable and Special Agent Desmond.
According to the Charlotte’s shooting diary, the fight scene took place on Friday, September 13 at Olallie State Park near North Bend, Washington – the same day as Beck’s original column!
Friday, September 13 – 9th Day
The clash between Cliff Howard the deputy and Desmond the agent is shot with three cameras, one being mounted on a Steadicam.
You can easily see that Chris Isaak (Desmond) has practiced boxing; his coordination is perfect. The hardest part is to hold back your blows, he confesses to me after having calmly but viciously twisted his antagonist’s nose.
Could they have been blocking the scene on September 12? Could someone from the crew have mistaken Sutherland for Gary Bullock (Sheriff Cable)? We must assume Marilyn Beck’s column was written at some point between September 4-12, 1991 (as the newspaper needed to be printed most likely on September 12 for delivery on September 13).
If an altercation did happen, I figure Charlotte would have referenced it in the Shooting Diary (especially since it became national news).
Let’s take a look at Kiefer’s scenes in the film and try to determine what scene(s) would have been delayed (short answer – there doesn’t seem to be any delay at all).
AGENT SAM STANLEY’S SCENES IN TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
Kiefer Sutherland’s character had multiple scenes in Lynch’s 1992 film including:
- Private Portland Airport
- Drive to Deer Meadow
- Inside Deer Meadow Sheriff’s Department
- Deer Meadow Morgue
- Outside Hap’s Diner – Arrival at Night and Leaving in the Morning
- Inside Hap’s Diner – Speaking with Jack and Talking With Irene at Hap’s
- Fat Trout Trailer Park – Carl Rodd’s Trailer
- Fat Trout Trailer Park – Teresa Bank’s Trailer
- Outside Deer Meadow Sheriff’s Department
- Speaking with Special Agent Dale Cooper in His Workshop
Using the Shooting Diary, we can group these scenes by known days of production. This may help discern if the rumored altercation was really referencing Cable and Desmond’s fight scene.
KNOWN PRODUCTION DAYS / SCENES
September 3 – Kyle MacLachlan arrives in Snoqualmie Valley. “David Lynch, who wants this character to be as clean and respectable as possible, runs his fingers on the back of the actor’s head to check the length of his hair and promises as a ‘hello’: ‘Not short enough yet.’
September 4-5: Fat Trout Tailer Park – We assume that all of the trailer park scenes – Carl Rodd’s and Teresa Banks’ trailers – were shot during these days.
September 9: The crew shoots at a hospital. This location in downtown Seattle is the FBI office location and location of Phillip Jeffries checking into the Palm Deluxe Hotel. This may also be the location where Special Agent Cooper speaks with Agent Sam Stanley.
September 13: The fight scene at Deer Meadow was shot on this date. I’m assuming the other Deer Meadow scenes were shot on the same day or the day before.
September 14-15: Hap’s Diner – There was an almost half moon on September 14, which appears to match the moon from The Missing Pieces captured above the former diner in Fall City, Washington.
September 16 – Red Diamond City Motel scenes with Teresa Banks There is no mention of Chet Desmond or Sam Stanley being on set. Most likely, Chris Isaak and Kiefer Sutherland wrapped their scenes over the weekend and returned home.
POSSIBLE PRODUCTION DAYS / SCENES
I’m assuming the crew maximized every day in September for production in Snoqualmie Valley. There are days, however, I am unable to confirm if production took place – September 6-8, 10-12.
Most likely the crew was at Olallie State Park for more than one day – probably September 12-13. They could have filmed the Drive to Deer Meadow during the morning of September 12 (based on the position of the sun) and other scenes in the afternoon.
They also needed to visit the Fall City Airport, which was the private Portland airport.
After reviewing these scenes, it doesn’t seem like things were delayed. Kiefer appears to be have been on location from Sept. 4-15. If scenes were delayed until he was healed, how long would have that taken? The cosmetology team would have needed to apply lots of make up and it doesn’t seem like that happened.
The only way to really confirm location and shooting details is to get my hands on a production bible for this film. Maybe one day….
For now, this strange story about an alleged altercation was one of the few released during location production. It only further confirms that Twin Peaks is a place both wonderful and strange.
