''Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?'' is a 2015 American
short documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
about musician
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in Outsider music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...
. The film was directed by Gabriel Sunday and executive produced by
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
and
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
. It premiered in Los Angeles at the Mama Gallery in November 2015.
Background and development
According to ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', the film took eight years to develop.
The magazine described the motive of the film "to bring the audience inside the artist's schizophrenic head with that location acting as a cage-like home for his creative processes." The film was funded through a crowd-funding campaign on
Kickstarter
Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
, with rapper
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
and singer-songwriter
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
both contributing funds to it. The duo were credited as executive producers for the film due to their $10,000 contributions. Del Rey would end up becoming more closely involved, recording a song for the soundtrack, a cover of Johnston's "Some Things Last a Long Time". The song was used in the soundtrack for the film.
The film's title derives from Johnston's self-proclaimed "unfinished album" from 1983, ''
Hi, How Are You''.
Cast
*Daniel Johnston as himself
* Greg McLeod as 1983 Jeremiah The Innocent (voice)
* Myles McLeod as 2015 Jeremiah The Innocent (voice)
* Soko as Dream Laurie
* Gabriel Sunday as 1983 Daniel Johnston
Promotion and release
The film premiered at the
Mama Gallery
MAMA is a contemporary art gallery located in Los Angeles, California. MAMA's mission; to foster and exhibit contemporary artworks executed in a wide variety of media including visual installations, film, video, automata, but not excluding 'traditi ...
in Los Angeles on November 7, 2015. The film premiered on the internet on November 11 and went on a film festival run in 2016, gaining the Bohemian Rhapsody Award for Sunday at the Sydney Underground Film Festival and an Honorable Mention as an Anarchy Short at the
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...
The film's credits cite
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
, Larry Janss,
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in Outsider music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...
, Dick Johnston,
David Lee Miller,
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
, and Barrie-James O'Neill as executive producers, with
Sarah Rivka, Matt Roznovak, Tomas Seidita, Ben Speigelman, Erica Sterne, Jason Suhrke, and
Gabriel Sunday as producers.
References
External links
Official Website*
{{Daniel Johnston
2015 films
American short documentary films
Documentary films about rock music and musicians
Daniel Johnston
Kickstarter-funded documentaries
Lana Del Rey
Mac Miller
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2015 short documentary films
English-language short documentary films