Lana Del Rey has a big fan in the person of James Franco. The actor has been vocal about his love for Lana Del Rey in the past. He penned an essay about her in V Magazine earlier this year, now he is writing a book called Flip-Side: Real and Imaginary Conversations with Lana Del Rey.
Franco’s admiration for Lana Del Rey seems to hinge on the similarities between them, which he has more of an opportunity to observe than most mortals might. They are friends.
“The only difference between Lana and me is her haunting voice,” Franco wrote. “That carries everything. The voice is the central axle around which the spokes of everything else extend.”
But when he wanted to interview her for his article, Del Rey actually declined.
“Just write around me,” Lana Del Rey told him “It’s better if it’s not my own words. It’s almost better if you don’t get me exactly, but try.”
Lana Del Rey could punch me in the face and I'd be perfectly fine with it
— sad boy (@cxmplacent) July 25, 2015
This kind of approach works well for Franco. He is a student of writing professor, David Shields.
James Franco “has been my student the last several years in the Warren Wilson low-residency MFA program,” Shields explained when he and Franco worked together on the film I Think You’re Totally Wrong: A Quarrel. Shields’ philosophy and approach to writing informs Franco’s earlier essay about Del Rey, as well as the new book, which Shields cowrites with him.
Shields previously wrote a book called Reality Hunger, in which he outlines his manifesto, his assertion that there needs to be a new genre of writing that blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction.
That approach to the Lana Del Rey book results in the “Real and Imaginary Conversations” part of the title.
In the past, Lana Del Rey has talked about her early years, her introversion, and how she sees her life differently than onlookers may. In fact, even though she is a pop singing success, Lana Del Rey says she felt successful before the music hit.
When GQ Magazine asked her what she considers success in her field, Lana Del Rey said, “I already have it. I had it a long time ago. It’s nothing to do with my music. Music is secondary, at this point. The good stuff is really good, but I have success because I’m at peace and I’m a good person in my everyday life and that’s important.”
Franco sees this part of Lana Del Rey, explaining that, “Lana lives in her art, and when she comes down to earth for interviews, it gets messy, because she isn’t made for this earth. She is made to live in the world she creates. She is one who has been so disappointed by life, she had to create her own world. Just let her live in it.”
The new book is only 100 pages, but the conversations that Franco and Lana Del Rey have — both real and imaginary — should make for interesting reading.
Lana Del Rey studied metaphysics at Fordham University.
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) July 23, 2015