Norman Fucking Rockwell | |
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Directed by | Chuck Grant |
Written by | Lana Del Rey |
Based on | Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by | Lana Del Rey |
Music by | Lana Del Rey |
Production company | Independent |
Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 14 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Norman Fucking Rockwell is a 2019 American short music film directed by Chuck Grant, written by her sister, Lana Del Rey, who also stars alongside Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye. The film is based on three songs from Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell! , the album's title track, "Bartender", and "Happiness is a Butterfly". It was released on YouTube on December 20, 2019. [1]
In 2018, Del Rey released videos for two songs, "Mariners Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch". Believed to be from her upcoming album, the clips were both directed by Del Rey's sister Chuck Grant and filmed solely on an iPhone in a vintage style, achieved through post-production filters. On January 10, 2019, Del Rey previewed a clip of a then-unreleased song titled "Happiness is a Butterfly" and a visual for the video. [2] [3] Del Rey later teased a music video for the title track from Norman Fucking Rockwell! by posting a snippet of it following the release of the album in August.
Going without a proper release for several months, Del Rey announced in October that she would be releasing a triple-feature for three songs from her album. After teasing the release for several days on social media, Del Rey released the 14-minute-long video on December 20, 2019. The music follows Del Rey's summer releases of "Doin' Time", "Don't Call Me Angel", and "Fuck It, I Love You"/"The Greatest". [4]
Set in Los Angeles, Del Rey sings along to her album's title song, "Norman Fucking Rockwell" while playing along at her piano. [5] Del Rey then proceeds to walk outside, wearing black sunglasses that feature cinematic imagery and home movies. Intercut with shots of Del Rey shining on a hammock and singing in front of roses, the song ends with Del Rey singing in front of a pool of CGI jellyfish. Del Rey's friend, Emma Elizabeth Tillman, makes a brief cameo in a scene in which Del Rey and her dancers are meditating in a national park with Disney wildlife wandering around them.
In the next segment, set to the song "Bartender", Del Rey and her friends are roaming around in a truck through an abandoned parking lot, harassing two comedic cops. The only section in the film to feature non-music audio, the group laugh as they throw slurpees and donuts at the cops as they chase them around, all while fighter jets fly overhead and explosions are set off in the background.
Following a brief 30-second-long black and white time lapse of moving traffic, the final song, "Happiness is a Butterfly" begins. The video takes place on the side of a busy street in Los Angeles, with Del Rey and her same two friends from "Bartender" walking around the pavement, singing the lyrics while laying on a doc, and playing with butterflies in front of a chain mill fence. This section features CGI lightning and cartoon butterflies, as well as real ones. [6]
"Doin' Time" is a song by American band Sublime, appearing as the closing track on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover make him feel like he is in prison. It was released as a single on November 25, 1997; the disc contained alternate versions of the song by Wyclef Jean and the Pharcyde. Additional versions appeared on the post-Bradley Nowell compilation album Second-hand Smoke and several bootlegs, including one with Snoop Dogg.
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music awards and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while their sister publication Rolling Stone UK named her as "The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century".
American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey has released nine studio albums, three extended plays, 41 singles, 18 promotional singles, and one box set. She also has one leaked demo album, which was not released officially. According to Universal Music Group (UMG), Del Rey has sold over 41 million albums worldwide and has garnered over 58 billion streams worldwide. In the United States, Del Rey has sold over 48 million certified singles according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Billboard ranked her as the 37th Top Rock Artist of the 2010s. Del Rey has also sold 7.1 million singles units, and 4 million albums in United Kingdom.
American singer, director and occasional actress Lana Del Rey has appeared in 55 music videos, one documentary film, six short films, seven magazine films, and three commercials, as well as directing a bulk of her work. Del Rey's first appearance was in the short film Poolside (2010) as Lisa, a rich girl who spends her days smoking cigarettes by the pool. She received top billing for the project. Del Rey then went on to write the treatment for two music films, Ride (2012) and Tropico (2013), which were directed by Anthony Mandler. In 2015, Del Rey served as the executive producer of the film Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?. She then made appearances as a performer in Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen and in The King as herself.
"Venice Bitch" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 18, 2018, through Polydor and Interscope Records, as the second single from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The song was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff. The song was met with unanimous praise from music critics and was ranked by numerous publications amongst the best songs of the year and decade. The song title references Venice, Los Angeles.
Norman Fucking Rockwell! is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on August 30, 2019, by Interscope and Polydor Records. The album was primarily produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff, with additional contributions from Zach Dawes, Andrew Watt, and longtime Del Rey collaborator Rick Nowels. Musically, Norman Fucking Rockwell! features a soft rock sound consisting of psych-rock songs and piano ballads and features references to various classic rock artists. The title of the album is a reference to painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell.
"Norman Fucking Rockwell" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album of the same name (2019). The track was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff.
"Mariners Apartment Complex" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). She wrote the song after a late night walk with her then partner, while they were reaching an "apartment complex". Produced by Del Rey and co-writer Jack Antonoff, it combines country, psychedelic folk, and soft rock over a balladic production. Lyrically, the narrator assures her lover of constant support and guidance in their beautiful yet problematic relationship. The song was released as the lead single from the album on September 12, 2018, by Polydor and Interscope Records.
"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It" is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey. The track was released as the third single on January 9, 2019, through Polydor Records, to promote her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell!. It follows the singles "Mariners Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch".
Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass is the debut book by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. A poetry collection featuring over 19 original poems, 10 haikus and photography, including "13 longer poems" and several short pieces, the collection is Del Rey's first published work and was released by Simon & Schuster on September 29, 2020.
"The Greatest" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, taken from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). She wrote and produced it with Jack Antonoff. The song was released for digital download as a joint promotional single with "Fuck It I Love You" on August 22, 2019, by Interscope and Polydor Records. An accompanying "double feature" music video with the two was also released. Universal Music Group sent "The Greatest" to Italian radios on September 13, 2019, as the fifth single from the album.
"Fuck It I Love You" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released as the first promotional single from her album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, along with "The Greatest". On August 22, 2019, Del Rey released a "double feature" music video for both songs. Later that day, she released the two as a joint-single on digital outlets.
"Cinnamon Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The song was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff.
The Norman Fucking Rockwell! Tour was the fifth headlining concert tour by American singer Lana Del Rey, in support of her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The tour began at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on September 21, 2019, and concluded at the Du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on November 30 of the same year.
"Looking for America" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The song was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff. The song was written as a response to the back-to-back shootings in Dayton and El Paso on August 3, 2019. The song was previewed on Instagram on August 5, the day it was written. After gaining positive feedback and popularity online, the song was officially released onto streaming platforms as a digital single on August 9.
Chemtrails over the Country Club is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Interscope and Polydor Records. Del Rey enlisted producer Jack Antonoff as her co-producer for the majority of the album, after working with him on her previous studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), while previous collaborator Rick Nowels produced one of the album's tracks. The album features collaborations with Nikki Lane, Weyes Blood, and Zella Day.
"Hallucinogenics" is a song by American singer-songwriter Matt Maeson. The official remix features the vocals of American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The song appears on Maeson's debut album, Bank on the Funeral (2019).
"Let Me Love You like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on October 16, 2020, by Interscope Records and Polydor Records as the lead single from Del Rey's seventh studio album, Chemtrails over the Country Club. The song was recorded at both Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Electric Lady Studios in New York City and was written by Del Rey and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, who produced the song.
"Chemtrails over the Country Club" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 11, 2021, by Interscope Records and Polydor Records as the title track and second single from her seventh studio album of the same name. The song was written and produced by Del Rey and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Alongside her social commentary and political references in the "Bartender" section, Del Rey also references other videos from her NFR! era. "Bartender" features the video portion of the photo session during which the alternative album cover for Urban Outfitters was shot. [7] The section also features an extended version of the footage originally used in "Venice Bitch". "Happiness is a Butterfly" was filmed the same day as "Mariners Apartment Complex" and features Del Rey and friends dressed in the same attire in the video, reusing several shots from the video as well. Angie Martoccio of Rolling Stone compared the singer's role as being that of a "woman of the canyon". [8] The video also features Jack Nicholson's grandson, Duke, who also appears with Del Rey on the cover of the album artwork.
The film stars Del Rey alongside her backup singers/dancers Alexandria Kaye and Ashley Rodriguez. Several of Del Rey's friends make cameo appearances, including Emma Tillman, Duke Nicholson, Craig Stark, and her sister and the film's director, Chuck Grant. Del Rey edited the video herself on iMovie, with CGI effects and graphics being added in later.[ citation needed ]
The film received positive views upon release. Being a follow-up to previous music films of hers such as Ride (2012) and Tropico (2013), critics noted how the video was more tame overall compared to her other pieces.
The film is set to three of Del Rey's songs from Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019): "Norman Fucking Rockwell", "Bartender", and "Happiness is a Butterfly".