How to Make the "I Love The Smiths" AI Video — 500 Days of Summer Elevator Scene
"Sorry?" "I Said I Love The Smiths."
Day 4 of 500. Tom Hansen is standing in an elevator wearing headphones. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths is playing. His new co-worker Summer Finn gets in, overhears the song leaking out, and says "I love The Smiths." He does not hear her. She says it again, louder: "I said I love The Smiths." She sings a line — "to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die" — and walks out. Tom stares at the closing doors. "Holy sh*t."
That is the entire scene. Twenty-five seconds. It has been the subject of 130,000-plus TikTok videos using the audio, a meme template that has been remade and updated through 2026, and a trend that Zooey Deschanel herself joined — reprising the scene on her own TikTok to over a million likes with the caption "I said what I said."
The I Love The Smiths template on Summrs puts two people into that elevator. Two photos, one scene.
Why This Scene Keeps Working
The elevator scene works as a meme because it captures a feeling everyone recognizes: the moment you discover someone shares your exact taste. The Smiths are the specific trigger, but the format scales to anything — someone overhears your playlist, sees your book, notices your shirt. The "I love The Smiths" audio became shorthand for that instant connection, which is why people keep reusing it years after the film came out.
The Smiths themselves are having a TikTok moment that shows no sign of stopping. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" cycle through trending sounds regularly. Morrissey opened an official TikTok account in January 2026. The "male manipulator music" meme put The Smiths at the center of an entire genre of content. All of it feeds back into the elevator scene, because that scene is where most of TikTok first heard the band.
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- Open the I Love The Smiths template on Summrs.
- Upload the left person — this person stands on the left side of the elevator, wearing headphones, listening to The Smiths.
- Upload the right person — this person stands on the right, overhears the song, and delivers the line.
- Pick 720p or 480p and generate.
You get a landscape 16:9 clip with the elevator audio already on it. Both people keep their face, hair, and outfit from their photos.
Who Goes Where
The two roles map to the original scene:
- Left (Photo 1) — the person with the headphones. In the film, this is Tom. He listens to The Smiths, looks surprised when the other person speaks, and is left standing stunned as the elevator opens.
- Right (Photo 2) — the person who overhears the song. In the film, this is Summer. She says the line, sings along, and walks out.
The joke usually works best when the casting is unexpected. Two coworkers. A couple on their first date. A parent and a teenager arguing over the aux. The scene is neutral enough that any two people look natural in it — the elevator does the work.
Photos That Work
The elevator scene is a tight indoor shot with even lighting, so the AI has a clean base to work with:
- Face visible and well lit — the scene is close quarters. Clear faces matter more here than in an outdoor clip.
- Upper body in frame — both people are standing, so your outfit from the photo shows. Whatever you are wearing in your photo is what you wear in the elevator.
- One person per photo — two photos, two roles. The AI assigns one identity per side.
- Contrast helps — two people in similar dark outfits can blend together in a small space. Different colors or styles give clearer separation.
The Smiths on TikTok
If you are seeing The Smiths everywhere on TikTok right now, that is not new — it has been building for years. The "I love The Smiths" audio passed 130,000 videos. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" and "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" both cycle through trending sounds. The "male manipulator music" meme made The Smiths shorthand for a specific type of listener, which only drove more people to the songs.
The elevator scene sits at the center of all of it. It is the clip most people associate with The Smiths on TikTok, and it is the one people keep remaking — with their own faces, their own friends, and their own twist on "I said I love The Smiths."
FAQ
What movie is this from? 500 Days of Summer (2009), directed by Marc Webb. The scene is the elevator meet-cute between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) on Day 4.
What song plays? "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths, from their 1986 album The Queen Is Dead.
Do both people need to be real? Any clear photo with a visible face works — real people, illustrated characters, or pets.
Is this the TikTok audio? The template uses the audio from the original scene. The "I love The Smiths" TikTok audio comes from the same clip.
What is the output format? Landscape 16:9, with the audio. Ready for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
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