“But I can say with certainty that no one would be happier, more honored, or more psyched to have your song in my film,” she wrote.
Greta Gerwig formally asked Justin Timberlake if she could use one of his early hits in her directorial debut, “Lady Bird.”
Chatting on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” the actress-turned-director explained that she sent letters to artists asking permission to use their music in her new movie, which hit theaters earlier this month.
In her plea to Timberlake for rights to use “Cry Me a River,” her letter — which might as well have been teenage fan mail — described her love for his hits in the early 2000s.
Specifically, Gerwig, 34, said his rise to solo fame “corresponded exactly with my very awkward puberty,” and she gushed, “I pretty much wouldn’t be an adult without you.”
Gerwig then described why his 2002 breakup hit was perfect for the main character of the movie — played by Saoirse Ronan — for a “hot and heavy” make out scene.
In closing, she held nothing back in confessing her love for the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” crooner.
“I know I am not the first lady to completely geek out over you and your music, and I know I won’t be the last. But I can say with certainty that no one would be happier, more honored, or more psyched to have your song in my film.”
Gerwig also wrote Alanis Morissette and Dave Matthews — and everyone gave her permission.
