Justin Timberlake says he was inspired to work with The Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme because a concert movie by the film-maker changed his life.
The US music star joined Oscar-winner Jonathan on the red carpet at the premiere of his concert film, Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie, which is being released on Netflix, showcases Justin’s final Las Vegas concerts from his 20/20 Experience world tour in 2015.
At the premiere, the Sexyback singer hailed Jonathan as a “genius” and said the director’s landmark 1984 concert movie, Stop Making Sense featuring Talking Heads, changed the way he wanted to see live music.
Justin said: “Quite literally Stop Making Sense changed my life. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. It changed the way I wanted to see a concert.
“When this idea came up I said ‘let’s get the guy who made that’. It happened to be the guy who made Silence of the Lambs and it also happened to be the guy who made Philadelphia, and all those fantastic Neil Young concert films.
“After meeting Jonathan you see how openly vulnerable and human he is so you feel like that’s what he’s always going to capture.”
Justin, 35, said he was initially unsure about making a concert film.
“We never knew what we were going to do with it,” he said. “It turned out to be a little serendipitous now having this opportunity with Netflix. It seems like a lot of fun. It feels like you’re a little bit ahead of the curve.
“Music streaming has changed the music industry. Now film streaming is changing the film industry and that’s exciting. It’s exciting to be a part of.”
Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids will be available on Netflix from October 12.
