Following the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max, the director revealed why it was so important to use a version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" in the end credits of the film.
"Allison Crowe did that for us, and she played that at my daughter’s service," Snyder told Deadline. "She's been a friend of ours forever, Allison. She's an amazing singer." He added, "She's in Man of Steel, actually. It's her in the bar in Man of Steel that's playing 'Ring of Fire,' the Johnny Cash song."
Snyder further revealed that he asked Allison to perform Cohen's song at the service because it was his daughter's favorite. "And she did," Snyder recalled. "And then, when we were trying to figure out what to do with the end titles, I just said, you know what, Allison, can you just do a 10-minute title sequence, and she goes, 'No problem,' and she just did that amazing version."
The director went on to describe Allison's performance as "really heart-wrenching," noting, "It's amazing, and it crushes us every time we hear it. So, it's a little difficult to watch the end of the movie, but it's still amazing." Snyder also revealed how the process of making the Snyder Cut, and including the song, helped him grieve his daughter's death.
"If I was a cabinet maker or something, I would've made like some chairs and a table to sort of figure out how to get through this grief and get through this sort of, this relationship that I'm having with life and death and everything," he explained. "But we make movies. So, you get a big movie out of it."
He added, "So, this is just what it is. That's what we do. I know it's a public venue, but it’s just how we -- I can't write a symphony, so I do this."
Following the debut of the film on HBO Max on March 18, Snyder also posted a video on the film's official Twitter account, in which he thanked fans for their support. The video showed the director looking directly into the camera and saying, "The day is finally here and I wanted to say thanks to all the fans again. Seeing your messages and your responses to the film has made it all worth it."
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film is currently available on HBO Max.
Source: Deadline