GRACIE DIRECTOR RECEIVED GIFT OF SONG FROM BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Gracie director discusses how he was able to get the rights to one of Bruce Springsteen’s songs for the film.

Gracie director Davis Guggenheim uses Bruce Springsteen’s coming of age anthem Growing Up for the film’s pivotal montage but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to secure the rights, at least not without spending half the film’s budget.

Davis says he had to rely on another Jersey boy to get the rights to the song.

“I’ve been to maybe 10 Bruce Springsteen concerts and I loved Bruce Springsteen, grew up to him and never believed. In fact I almost didn’t put it in the first cuts of the film because I didn’t want to get people’s hopes up. And Andrew Shue found a way to get him to give us that song Growing Up which is just perfect for the film.”

Davis talks about why he thought The Boss was so generous with his music.

“I think Bruce believes in films that are made in New Jersey. I think he believes in the story. He has daughters who compete. And he just thought the song was perfect. No amount of money would’ve convinced him. I think it’s all about the fact that we represent what that song represents. It was a gift. We paid but not a lot of money. It was a gift because I think he believes in the state of New Jersey and he believes in our movie.”

Gracie opens today in theaters.