Sneak Preview of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in Australia’s ‘TV Hits’ Magazine from 1993

I acquired a binder of clippings from a Twin Peaks fan located in Australia. Inside was a treasure trove of newspaper and magazine clippings from the land down under. One of those clippings was a sneak preview of David Lynch’s masterpiece, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. This preview was published in the now defunct “TV Hits” magazine sometime in mid-1993.

WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S ‘TV HITS’ MAGAZINE?

Created by Pacific Magazines in 1988, “TV Hits” was a magazine for youth focusing on music, television show news, gossip and information. In the 1990s, the magazine had a circulation in “excess of 200,000.” They ceased publication in October 2010 as readership moved online to get the latest news.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME

The sneak preview of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was published in “TV Hits” at some point in mid-1993. I believe this is the approximate timeframe based on when Australia debuted Lynch’s follow up film.

In Australia, the film was screened for one-night only during the 42nd Melbourne International Film Festival on June 13, 1993. Fans would have to wait several months before it arrived in movie theaters throughout the country on November 4.

I’m assuming this “sneak preview” was published at some point after the film festival debut, which means it could be between July to October 1993. I’ve been unable to locate the specific issue of “TV Hits” but I figure if I wait long enough, it will turn up.

The article contains ten publicity images taken by Lorey Sebastian for New Line Cinema. I’ve discussed some of those images, like the one above with Carl Rodd and Special Agent Dale Cooper, in previous publicity photo articles.

Here is the text from the article:

The Weirdest Show on TV is Coming To The Big Screen

The Twin Peaks TV series opened with the discovery of Laura Palmer’s body, wrapped in plastic. In the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the action takes place in the weeks leading up to her death – including the related murder of Teresa Banks. The film isn’t released until November, but TV HITS knew you couldn’t wait till then – nor could we! – so here’s our special sneak preview! 

1. FBI agents Sam Stanley (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chester Desmond (brilliantly played by singer Chris Isaak) are sent to a small town to investigate the murder of Teresa Banks.
2. When Agent Desmond mysteriously disappears, FBI chief Gordon Cole (played by director David Lynch) sends Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to check things out.
3. Coop travels to the last-known whereabouts of the missing agent, a caravan park run by Carl Rodd (wrinkly old actor Harry Dean Stanton).
4. In a typically-twisted Twin Peaks scene, another missing FBI agent, Phillips Jeffries (David Bowie), suddenly turns up in Cole’s office, freaks out, then disappears into thin air!
5. The smiles in this Palmer family portrait hide some disturbing secrets.
6. To prove her friendship, straight-laced Donna (played in the film by Moira Kelly) takes part in some sleazy, after-hours business with Laura.
7. Once again, Coop goes behind the red curtain and meets up with the dwarf.
8. …And a glammed-up Laura.
9. Back in the real world, Laura is doing her meals-on-wheels deliveries when she is visited by the spooky old lady and her grandson.
10. For Laura’s boyfriend James Hurley (played by James Marshall), her bizarre sex-and-drugs style finally becomes too much, and the break up the night she is murdered.

The one photo was I was unable to repair in the clipping shows Laura Palmer outside the Double R Diner, which was know as the Mar-T Cafe in North Bend, WA. The person who pulled the clipping from “TV Hits” ripped the pages beyond repair.

It’s fascinating that fans in Australia had to wait more than a year after the film was released in many countries around the world. Stay tuned for more treasures from this fan-created binder.