Celebrated director Gore Verbinski and accomplished screenwriter Matthew Robinson have more in common than their Hollywood careers. They both love NORMS, which has served Californians as a 24/7 iconic neighborhood diner since 1949.

Most recently, Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”) and Robinson The Invention of Lying”) teamed up on the film “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” which hit theaters Feb. 13. NORMS played a feature role in the film: “It had about 20-25 minutes of screen time,” said Ingrid Martinez, VP of Marketing at NORMS.

Love for NORMS runs deep for both filmmakers. Gore frequented NORMS on La Cienega while at UCLA School of Theater, Film and television, and Robinson conceived the narrative while dining there.

“Gore went to film school at UCLA,” Martinez said, “and he used to dine at NORMS at our Westwood location, which has been closed for 8 years, and he shared that that’s where he used to do his deals for music videos.”

“They just love NORMS and what NORMS is about,” Martinez continued, “which is a place of community, like the tagline, where life happens. It’s really a place where all people from all walks of life come in for great food.”

When Martinez was approached about using a NORMS location in the film, she first had to read the script.

“There were some changes that needed to be made because it wasn’t on brand with us,” explained Martinez, “but I quickly realized the love Gore had for NORMS. I was not born in L.A., but I grew up here and know what it means.”

The movie was not able to film in L.A., so the whole set was built in South Africa. Martinez sent Verbinski the layout to the La Cienega location. When eating at NORMS, the actors ate food from the diner’s actual menu.

In one scene, actor Sam Rockwell is eating a Hostess Snoball and Twinkie.

“We thought, how much fun would that be?” Martinez shared. “So, working with our executive chef, I said, we have to get creative.”

Now through Feb. 28, NORMS has introduced two new menu items, inspired by the film, available at all NORMS locations: three of NORMS’ famous hotcakes topped with sliced strawberries, cheesecake batter, a Hostess Snoball, chocolate drizzle, and a signature knife garnish and a Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die Milkshake, a rich chocolate shake blended with half a Hostess Snoball and finished with whipped cream and the other half of the Snoball on top. Hostess Snoball toppers will be available and can be enjoyed on their own or added to any menu item.

On Feb. 25, NORMS is launching a revamped core menu. Two of the items that will be leaving are the chocolate chip waffle and chicken & waffles. The sections that will be expanded are salads, sandwiches and burgers.

“We really wanted to offer more variety,” said Martinez. “Unlike everyone else that’s deleting items on their menu, we decided to go a different route, and we added more items. One of the things that we brought back, because we had taken it out during COVID, was liver and onions. Several of our guests were not happy when we took it away.”

Verbinski and Robinson are not the only NORMS fans, and this is not the diner’s first starring role on screen. NORMS has become that place where life happens for Angelenos.

“Growing up in L.A., after church, the highlight of our Sundays was, you went to church and you went to NORMS,” Martinez said. “That’s where people treated you nicely. That’s where people remembered your name. They’re like, same table, and you got used to the servers, and the beauty of it is that NORMS has always been involved with the community, from the employees to the people in the area.”

NORMS founder Norm Roybark opened the first restaurant on Sunset and Vine in 1949. A betting man, he used to frequent Santa Anita Park.

“He saw the $1 food line was super long, the $2 line was a little shorter, and the $5 line was not so much,” said Martinez. “In his mind, he wanted to open a restaurant with a $1 line because he wanted to be able to serve as many people as possible. The beauty of NORMS is that we open in great locations, and our parking lots, some of them fit 100 cars. The true love of NORMS is serving the blue-collar community because we want to be able to serve value.”

More Information

For more information, visit norms.com.