How ‘The Fall Guy’ Landed Taylor Swift and Kiss for its Soundtrack — and the Alanis Morissette Karaoke Moment That Didn’t Make the Final Cut

Jazz Tangcay and Meredith Woerner

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses plot elements from “The Fall Guy,” now playing in theaters.

Long before Taylor Swift embarked on the Eras Tour, director David Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick had the idea to use “All Too Well” as a key moment in “The Fall Guy.”

More from Variety

McCormick, a self-professed Swiftie, and Leitch were trying to find a fresh and contemporary song to fit into a particular scene.

In the film, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, one of Hollywood’s top stuntmen. After experiencing an on-set accident, he falls off the grid for 18 months, ghosting aspiring director Jody (Emily Blunt), someone he also happens to be dating. The two awkwardly reunite on the set of her directorial debut, and when they wrap their first day, Colt retreats to his pickup truck reflecting on happier times with Jody.

McCormick thought a Swift song would be perfect for that scene, and even Gosling agreed. The challenge was deciding which one made the best fit. “Taylor’s hard to put in a movie because she’s a storyteller,” McCormick says. “So then putting images on top of the story she’s telling when you’re listening to every single word is really hard to do.”

The lyrics to Swift’s 2012 song “All Too Well” evoked exactly what Colt was feeling in that moment – extreme heartbreak. He’s someone who has lost it all. As the song plays, Jody catches him singing along. She asks, “Have you been crying to Taylor Swift?” You bet he was.

Though the film is hitting theaters as Swift Mania reaches a fever pitch, it should be noted that scene was written and the rights to the song were secured before the Eras Tour became the hottest concert (and movie) ticket on the planet.

“It happened before the tour frenzy,” confirms music supervisor Rachel Levy. With the song being an integral part of the narrative, there wasn’t a backup plan in place were Swift to say no. Levy adds, “Taylor is a friend of sync. We haven’t had much that’s been denied by her. She likes to place her songs in movies, and there was no reason to think that it would be denied.”

Elsewhere, the film is filled with banging ’80s classics and contemporary hits. The prominent use of the 1979 Kiss song “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” came from Leitch, who conceived the idea while driving in the car with McCormick long before they began writing the script.

She wasn’t entirely convinced, but Leitch was insistent. “What I liked about Kiss was it was crystallizing the tone of the movie for me, which was equal parts camp and cool,” he explains.

The conversation continued through filming and Leitch learned during post-production that Gosling, Universal Pictures president Peter Cramer and (a still-unconvinced) McCormick all rejected the idea of the song.

“I was like, ‘I think you should cut that Kiss out.’ Peter Cramer was like, ‘I think you should cut Kiss out,’ and Ryan Gosling was like, ‘I don’t see Kiss in this thing,'” McCormick says, laughing. So they tried different songs, but nothing seemed to work. “By the end, it was the only thing that tied the whole room together.”

“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” turned out to be the most challenging for Levy to get clearance for. But in addition to using the track as a needle drop several times throughout the film, composer Dominic Lewis deconstructed the song and integrated it into his theme. Then, singer Yungblud recorded a cover version which plays during an action sequence involving a speedboat.

The result: “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” became the beating heart of the film’s soundtrack. McCormick laughs, “Everyone is saying, ‘Of course it’s Kiss. Of course, it’s that song.”

Along with other throwbacks like the “Miami Vice” theme (which, along with Colt’s treasured “Miami Vice stunt team” jacket is a nod to Leitch getting his start working in stunt shows), Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” and a karaoke version of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle,” the soundtrack features original songs, including “Unknown Stuntman,” Blake Shelton’s take on the theme from the 1980s “Fall Guy” TV show.

“Kelly had that connection to Blake, and it was an obvious yes,” Levy says. “I can’t imagine anyone better to sing and perform a cover of the original theme song, and that was one of the easiest things we did because everyone agreed and was super excited about it.”

Levy credits Leitch’s love for music in bringing the movie music together. “If you look at his work from ‘Bullet Train’ to ‘Hobbs and Shaw,’ and ‘Deadpool,’ they have big musical moments with character.” But when assembling the stunt-tacular soundtrack, a few songs didn’t make the final cut.

One song that Levy cleared but wasn’t used is Alanis Morissette’s scornful anthem “You Oughta Know.” It was meant to be another song Jody sings during the film’s karaoke scene. She’s slowly losing it as, once again, Colt hasn’t shown up when he should.

“She’s slowly losing it on stage in front of the crew, and she doesn’t know what song to sing,” McCormick recalls. “[Emily] wrote a letter to Alanis Morrissette begging her for the song, and Alanis who historically never gives it, gave it, and we don’t use it.”

Indeed, the musical moment landed on the cutting room floor as the filmmakers trimmed the runtime down to 126 action-packed minutes. Maybe it’ll appear on “The Fall Guy” (David’s Version)(From the Vault)…

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Advertisement