Conversations With Mark Frost: Twin Peaks, Hill Street Blues, and the Education of a Writer

by David Bushman

Mark Frost, cocreator of both the original Twin Peaks and The Return, is often lost in the shadow of cocreator David Lynch in the eyes of critics and scholars. In fact, Frost played at least as crucial a role in developing the narrative, mythology, and aesthetic of those groundbreaking, critically revered series. Conversations with Mark Frost deconstructs that legendary partnership, while at the same time exploring Frost’s values, influences, thematic preoccupations, and approach to creating art—for the screen, the stage, and the printed page—as well as his thoughts on a wide variety of political, artistic, and social topics. Included, for example, are Frost's recollections of a bizarre encounter with Warren Beatty and Donald Trump in the mideighties, his days as a production assistant on Mister Roger's Neighborhood, his experiences working alongside the likes of David Milch in the legendarily competitive writers' room at Hill Street Blues, conversations about alien life and time travel with iconic film director Steven Spielberg, and much, much more.
 

296 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2020

Reviews

[tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

A truly interesting conversation with a gifted artist. Insights into the his career and his influence in pop culture. A must for his fans. 👍

[Lynne Perednia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent questions by David Bushman that engage as much as the thoughtful, generous answers of Mark Frost.

[Prisoner 071053 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were violent, dangerous criminals,who both hastened their own well-deserved demise at the hands of good men on the side of civilization. Both of those thugs (and numerous other useful idiots the media trots out to incite rioting and perpetuate the conspiracy theory of White privilege) were representative of "the evil that men do", and characterizing either as men (or even human) is a courtesy neither deserves.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this five stars as I was specifically looking for good interviews with Mark Frost and insight into his creative work and process, including his collaboration with David Lynch. And that’s what I got.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Frost talk about his reading/screening life, early to present, was a highlight.

[James Nethercote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of secrets...

[Ainslie Marksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4-1/2 stars.

If you like Frost or are interested in his work, then this is the book to read. Bushman's questions are pretty well-presented; probably about half the book is about Twin Peaks, so if you happen to be a fan or a TV critic this would be an indispensable resource. Frost tends to be downplayed in discussions of Twin Peaks--in my view he is the single most important person behind the brilliance of the show, with MacLachlan running a close second, Lynch would come in only third in my rankings and I would like to make it clear that I am very much a fan of his work. The mythology and overall tenor of the show is clearly Frost's; this is more than clear if you happen to have read his work. Not enough focus on his novels and his non-fiction (all of them very good), but Bushman is a television historian, so there you go.

[Morten Kølln · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Frost's responses are thoughtful and insightful. When the book doesn't really impress it is because the author is a fan first and foremost, and therefore we don't get to get really in depth about anything. Frost gets to run the show, and the author doesn't himself understand the craft of screenwriting enough to ask the revaltory questions. The book is enjoyable but a missed opportunity.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Mark Frost is fascinating. Excellent interviews.