Going Underground: Mulholland Drive TV Pilot (4)

Heading into the homestretch of the pilot, the casting agent and her assistant lead Betty out of the room where the audition took place. Betty is taken to the set of Adam's film and this scene plays out as it does in the film. Next is the incredibly spooky scene with Betty and Rita going to visit Diane Selwyn. It too is much like its counterpart in the film but with some differences. The shot of the red-haired woman having her bags put into the trunk of a taxi is missing. Plus there are some additional shots of items in apartment #17 – a stairway and a painting.



Back at Aunt Ruth's apartment, the whole deal with Rita's hair unfolds as in the film. But a shot is present here that is not in the film. It's a panning shot of the money on the table followed by Rita's purse. The camera stops on the purse and moves inside to reveal the blue key.




The pilot ends with a final Steadicam shot. It is night and the camera winds its way behind Winkie's Diner to reveal the creepy homeless man (played by a woman) sitting next to a fire.



This is a different shot than the one in the film. A quick fade and a nod to the production company.



And that is the last glimpse we get of what might have been. How would the series have continued? From this article:

Lynch did hint to the executives that Adam and Betty would have a romance, which reassured them, and said that in the course of the first year Betty and Rita would "cross": Betty would be sucked into the city's underbelly, and Rita would be redeemed. And, in response to politely insistent queries, Lynch promised that when Rita's identity was finally revealed it would only open up other mysteries.

The article also indicates that at least some of the Club Silencio material was shot for the pilot as well. Of course the hot lesbian scene was done in 2000 as was the one with the old couple's reappearance.

I haven't found anything indicating exactly how the series was to progress excepting the above and Lynch never really says what his films are about so who knows what the TV series would have been like. Considering how the film turned out and that Lynch was coming off Lost Highway at the time, I highly suspect that at least some of the double-identity thing would have been present. Regardless, we fans ended up with a kick-ass film and I am now really psyched to see Lynch's latest, Inland Empire, on Sunday as I and The Dulcinea will be trekking to Chicago for the occasion.

Thanks to DavisDVD. Keep an eye on their site for their MD pilot section to be reinstated in the Miscellaneous section under "Alternate Cuts".