“My heart is broken. My Buddy Dave…” began Mulholland Drive star Naomi Watts on Instagram about the death of that movie’s filmmaker David Lynch. “The world will not be the same without him. His creative mentorship was truly powerful,” she wrote.

David Lynch, an influential director known for his unique and surrealistic films and TV shows including “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks,” has died. He was 78.

David Lynch has died at 78. The filmmaker was celebrated for his uniquely dark vision in such movies as “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” and the TV series “Twin Peaks.”