‘Seinfeld’: Why Lana Del Rey and Rob Zombie Live Like George Costanza
Seinfeld’s George Costanza, Lana Del Rey, and Rob Zombie are very different — or are they? With some prompting, Del Rey noted a major similarity between George and herself. In addition, Zombie noted that he and George share the same similarity. In the same vein, Zombie revealed he took major inspiration from George when he directed one of his films.
Lana Del Rey admits her philosophy is similar to a famous ‘Seinfeld’ episode
In an interview with Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone, Del Rey discussed her approach to life. It’s a bit unorthodox — albeit familiar to fans of a certain 1990s sitcom.
“I’m really specific about why I’m doing something or writing something,” Del Rey revealed. “But it always kind of gets translated in the opposite fashion. I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve learned that everything I’m going to do is going to have the opposite reaction of what I meant. So I should do the opposite if I want a good reaction.”
Hiatt mentioned Del Rey’s modus operandi was similar to that of George in a famous Seinfeld episode. In the episode “The Opposite,” George feels every decision he’s ever made was unwise. Thus, he decides to go against his instincts in every situation. By the end of “The Opposite,” George has earned a new job and moves out of his parent’s home. Del Rey had a strong reaction to the similarity between herself and George.
“Oh really?” Del Rey asked. “That’s awesome. Me and George Costanza! Oh my God!” Del Rey has drawn comparisons to musical icons ranging from Cat Power to Billie Eilish, but George might surprise some Seinfeld fans. In addition, Del Rey is not the only musical icon to see a similarity between herself and George.
The movie Rob Zombie made with George with George Costanza’s philosophy
Rob Zombie is known for his work with White Zombie and his works as a solo artist, but he’s written and directed several films as well. One of them was a surrealist shocker involving the Salem witches called The Lords of Salem. In an interview with Shudder, Zombie said “The Opposite” is his favorite Seinfeld episode and that he took George’s philosophy to heart. In addition, he took a George-like approach to The Lords of Salem.
He always went against his gut instinct when making The Lords of Salem. This philosophy extended to how he shot the film and how he structured scenes. Zombie said he took this approach because he wanted to know what would happen.
According to Box Office Mojo, The Lords of Salem earned a mere $1,544,989 on a budget of $1.5 million. The Lords of Salem clearly didn’t resonate much with the public, so perhaps George’s approach is better left in the world of fiction. However, Del Rey and Zombie are successful overall, so perhaps there is some real-world validity to George’s philosophy.
