Gilles Lellouche Refuses to Pay Huge Sum for Iconic Music Rights!

“Crazy Love” is currently enjoying massive success (expected to surpass three million admissions by tonight or tomorrow) thanks to its appealing cast across generations, a timeless love story, and ambitious direction.

Could another key to its success be its music? This playlist, filled with hits and gems from the 80s and 90s, certainly plays a part.

As reported by our colleagues at Le Parisien this weekend, two songs featured in the movie have soared back up the charts—The Cure’s “A Forest” and Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without A Face,” both now in the Top 100 most played songs on Spotify in France.

Check out the complete movie playlist below:

AlloCiné had the opportunity to speak with Gilles Lellouche just days before the release of the film and asked if, despite the already stellar playlist, there was a song he couldn’t secure.

Lellouche explained that he had to let go of a dream track, “Never Tear Us Apart” by Australian band INXS, also known for hits like “Need You Tonight” and “Suicide Blonde.”

The reason this song slipped through Lellouche’s fingers is certainly tied to its cost. But why was it so expensive? The reason is quite unexpected!

Lellouche explains in the video below:

“There was a piece of music that slipped away because of budget issues, as it had been used in the series ‘Euphoria.’ They went absolutely crazy with the pricing, but ultimately, I didn’t miss having it.”

Lellouche then noted that the asking price was 200,000 euros. For comparison, a song like “A Forest” by The Cure cost only 15,000 euros.

Lellouche adds, “The really essential music for the film is in it. Those are the ones I’ve had in mind for 17 years. It’s The Cure, it’s Billy Idol, Foreigner, and the rap track.”

A Piano Scene Featuring François Civil Cut from the Script

An expensive song may hide another! François Civil also shared that he was supposed to play the song “The Year of The Cat” by Al Stewart, but the scene will ultimately not appear in the film. “That one was marked in the script,” he says.

“True. It was in place of Billy Idol. It had been there from the beginning. But the rights holders of Al Stewart, who no one knows, went crazy with the pricing,” adds Lellouche.

Lellouche finally explains, “Because I had another problem. The Cure, who gave me the rights to their music. I thought it would cost a fortune, but actually, not so much.”

However, they said, ‘watch out, if a piece costs more than ours, we’re going to index to the rate of the most expensive one.’ So if I started taking a track that cost a fortune, it would increase all the others and shrink my small budget! So, decisions had to be made.”

As our colleagues at BFM TV indicate, the total cost for the film’s soundtrack supervised by Emmanuel Ferrier was about 750,000 euros. “And yet, it was supposed to be more expensive,” notes Alain Attal, “but gradually, there was a desire from Gilles to cut back a bit so as not to make his film a jukebox.”

Using hit songs remains a rare practice in France mainly for budgetary reasons

“If the use of these tracks is driven by the directors themselves, it is realized through music supervisors like Sasha White,” continues BFM. “Our role as a supervisor is to realize the vision of the production,” she summarizes. “About ten people practice this booming profession in France.”

BFM TV specifies, “Using hit songs remains a rare practice in France mainly for budgetary reasons. ‘In 90% of cases, it’s a matter of time or money,’ confirms Sasha White. ‘There can be refusals due to the context of the music’s use or the budget, or simply if we couldn’t reach the artist. Because it’s ultimately up to them to accept or refuse.”

Crazy Love (and its excellent playlist and soundtrack composed by Jon Brion) is currently in theaters.