Lana Del Rey is no stranger to film soundtracks, having contributed songs to both Tim Burton’s 2014 film Big Eyes and Baz Luhrmann’s extravagant 2013 film adaptation of the Great Gatsby.
Now the singer-songwriter has lent her voice to the soundtrack and trailer of Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?, a psychedelic short film featuring – and based on the life of – cult musician Daniel Johnston.
Throughout the film, “reality and fiction blend as Daniel reveals bitter-sweet truths, tales of unrequited love and advice for artists everywhere,” according to a short video description written by the film’s director, Gabriel Sunday. In the trailer, Del Rey covers Johnston’s 1990 song Some Things Last a Long Time.
Del Rey’s involvement with the film extends further than its score. When Sunday first launched a crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign for the film in 2013, Del Rey was among the hundreds of campaign backers. Del Rey and Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller each pledged $10,000 to the film’s production, and both musicians are listed as executive producers in the trailer.
Overall, 613 backers pledged $57,185 towards the making of the film, and were promised rewards ranging from early digital downloads of the film (for $10) to the executive producer package, including a portrait drawn by Johnston from a submitted photograph.
Johnston’s frank and lyrically vulnerable lo-fi music has helped him earn a cult following since he first released cassette albums in the early 80s. The Texan singer-songwriter is also an artist, and has been the subject of 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
That film portrayed Johnston’s battle with mental health problems – he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder – and won a documentary directing award at Sundance film festival in 2005.
Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston? premiered in Los Angeles on Saturday 7 November and is due to premiere online on Wednesday 11 November.
