In January, James Franco penned an ode to his friend and muse Lana Del Rey, concluding his V Magazine tribute to the singer by writing, “I wanted to interview Lana for a book and she said, ‘Just write around me; it’s better if it’s not my own words. It’s almost better if you don’t get me exactly, but try.'” That suggestion turned into an actual book as Franco revealed the actor has co-written Flip-Side: Real and Imaginary Conversations With Lana Del Rey. The 100-page book will be released March 15th, 2016 via Penguin Random House.
Franco co-write Flip-Side with New York Times bestsellers list author David Shields, who previously teamed with Franco on a film adaptation of I Think You’re Totally Wrong: A Quarrel, which was directed by Franco and co-written by Shields and Caleb Powell. Franco was also Shields’ student while the actor pursued his creative writing MFA through the Warren Wilson Program, Washington.edu reported in December 2013.In that initial V tribute to Del Rey, Franco first agreed with the criticism the singer faced after her tumultuous Saturday Night Live performance but, after getting to know her, became enamored with her music.
“Lana has become my friend. She is a musician who is a poet and a video artist. She grew up on the East Coast but she is an artist of the West Coast,” Franco wrote. “When I watch her stuff, when I listen to her stuff, I am reminded of everything I love about Los Angeles. I am sucked into a long gallery of Los Angeles cult figurines, and cult people, up all night like vampires and bikers. The only difference between Lana and me is her haunting voice. That carries everything. The voice is the central axle around which the spokes of everything else extend.”
