The Summer I Turned Pretty writer Jenny Han revealed that it was her "number one dream" to get Taylor Swift's songs on the Amazon Prime Video show. This is why it is so special.
It's not been a cruel summer for writer Jenny Han.
Her new TV show The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on her young adult trilogy, premiered on June 17 and was the most-watched series on Amazon Prime Video over the weekend. But for Han, the icing on the cake came weeks before the show even dropped when the first trailer debuted Taylor Swift's version of "This Love."
"I don't even know the words for what that means to me," Han exclusively told E! News. "It was my number 1 dream, to get one of his songs on this show."
Mission accomplished. Two of the most important moments in the finale are set to Swift's songs, including the return of "This Love (Taylor's Version)", which plays as Belly (Lola Tung) and Conrad (Christopher Brinley) have their first kiss on the beach. Knocked out.
And before that final scene, "The Way I Loved You (Taylor's Version)" becomes the starting point when Conrad finally steps in to dance with Belly at the debut dance. Cool, readers, we have it and we're not the only ones moved by the choice.
"It was my favorite moment," the show's lead told E! News. "Absolutely unbelievable. It was magical to make a film and everything came together perfectly."
It also brought it all full circle for Han, who revealed that he "almost dedicated" a second book, It's Not Summer Without You, to Swift in 2010.
"I listened to Fearless and I was like, 'These songs are really helping me get to the finish line,'" Han explains. "When I write books, I love listening to music to help me see the emotional tone of the story and the music really did that with me for the series."
But, even though Han had meaning to Swift's songs on the show, he knew it would resonate deeply with fans "because it's been years since the first book came out and so many people have connected his music to the story," explains Han.
"I know what it means to me and I know even more what it means to the people who have held these books very close to their hearts," he continued. "That feels like the best gift I've ever been given."
The significance of the two authors who both revisited their previous work with new perspectives that came together was not lost on Han.
"I've always admired him as a songwriter and the way he tells stories through his music," he said. "It was fun that we did Taylor's Version and he reworked the music too, the way I imagine The Summer I Turned Pretty. It's just looking at something you made years ago and coming back to it and what is it like today?"
And now, those two women will always have Summer. /eonline.com
