Released three weeks ago, Gilles Lellouche‘s latest film, “L’amour ouf” attracted nearly three million spectators thanks to its love story and its soundtrack of classics from the 80s and 90s. However, for budgetary reasons, a piece that the director wanted to include had to be excluded.
Third French success of the year, this film combines romance, thriller and musical comedy, with an original soundtrack, which includes titles from The Cure, Prince and NTM, and which cost around 750,000 euros.
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Exploding prices
In an interview given to AlloCinéGilles Lellouche explains that he gave up on integrating “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS, used in the “Euphoria” series, because of the high royalties, estimated at… 200,000 euros! “There is music that escaped me for a question of money, of budget, because this music was taken from the series ‘Euphoria.’ And as a result, they went crazy, but completely crazy in terms of prices. This is an INXS song. ‘Never Tear Us Apart’. So, I did without this music, but I didn’t miss it,” confided the director.
Among the choices kept, “A Forest” by The Cure cost 15,000 euros, but the rights holders required that no song exceed this price to avoid increasing costs. In addition, a scene where François Civil was to play “The Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart was cut, due to lack of means to acquire the rights. In France, filmmakers often face budgetary constraints on music rights, which are much more restrictive than in American productions. According to Sasha White, music supervisor, the use of popular hits is often held back by questions of cost and deadlines.
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