Documentary on Stan Lee Alleges Exploitation of the Marvel Comics Legend in Final Years of His Life
A new documentary on Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee claims that Lee was mistreated and exploited by some of those in his inner circle during the last few years of his life.
Jon Bolerjack, a comic book artist and a former assistant to Lee during the last four years of Lee's life, filmed the documentary and on Tuesday launched a Kickstarter campaign looking for funding to complete the film, titled 'Stan Lee: The Final Chapter.' In a trailer for the movie, Bolerjack says Lee spent 'his final years enduring mistreatment, manipulation, and betrayal at the hands of a few very bad actors.'
More from IndieWire
'Black Bag' Review: Steven Soderbergh's Crackling Thriller Stars Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as Married Spies with Nuclear Trust Issues
'We Bury the Dead' Review: Daisy Ridley Goes Zombie-Hunting
Bolerjack says the film includes interviews with other witnesses close to Lee and with comic book creators like Rob Liefeld and Roy Thomas. It also concludes with a string of interviews with other comic book artists who have seen an early cut of the footage discussing what they say are some of the shocking details.
'Seeing Stan in that situation, being taken advantage of, was really hard to watch,' artist Tyler Kirkham says in the trailer.
'I had no idea how badly he had been exploited, and that's a message people need to hear,' comic book writer Mark Waid added.
Lee, who passed away in 2018 at age 95, was the subject of an investigation from THR shortly before his death in which it was claimed that he was the victim of elder abuse and had other individuals improperly influencing his family members and worked to gain control of his assets and money. Lee's estate in 2023 lost an elder abuse lawsuit on a technicality against a former attorney, but Bolerjack's documentary claims to explore other aspects of Lee's exploitation.
The trailer for the documentary does not name any individuals specifically, but it has several sequences involving Max Anderson, Lee's former road manager for many of his convention appearances. Anderson was named in THR's 2018 investigation, though he has denied wrongdoing.
Bolerjack is seeking $300,000 through Kickstarter in order to complete 'Stan Lee: The Final Chapter.' The money will go toward finishing post-production, paying some of the volunteer crew, and to various legal fees.
Best of IndieWire
Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See
'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie
The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gizmodo
28 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
‘The Handmaid's Tale' Creators Tease What's in Store for Sequel ‘The Testaments'
Weeks ago, The Handmaid's Tale came to an end after six seasons. While not every story found a tidy conclusion, we at least know who survived to continue the fight against Gilead—or in some cases, continue to exist within its dystopia. With no fear of Handmaid's spoilers holding them back, the creators of both the original show and its upcoming follow-up, The Testaments—based on Margaret Atwood's 2019 sequel to her groundbreaking 1985 novel—are lifting the lid a tiny bit on the new series. It began filming six weeks after Handmaid's wrapped, and features an all-new cast alongside Ann Dowd, reprising her Emmy-winning Handmaid's role as Aunt Lydia. A new Hollywood Reporter piece featuring interviews with Atwood, Bruce Miller (who created both shows), and executive producer Warren Littlefield doesn't definitively answer the number one burning question fans have about The Testaments: will Elisabeth Moss' June return? It's tempting to hope, considering one of The Testaments' main characters is June's long-lost daughter Hannah, renamed Agnes after being kidnapped and raised within Gilead society. 'She threw herself back and she couldn't walk away from her daughter, so June is still doing her job,' Miller said, noting that June, Hannah's father Luke (O-T Fagbenle), and June's best friend Moira (Samira Wiley) are all 'still out there somewhere ringing the bell to get Hannah back.' (Later in the THR piece, Miller said the only character he's absolutely certain will not return in The Testaments is Yvonne Strahovski's Serena.) However, it sounds like The Testaments will widen the lens of that one family's story. 'The beauty of having watched Handmaid's Tale is that you understand there's this huge operation of people who care who are out there and who are risking themselves to get to reunite with their children,' Miller continued. 'So, is June influencing The Testaments? Absolutely. She's out there. She's out there trying to get Hannah back. Do we see her? I would love to see her. But let's expand into how the people who survive are rebelling in all these different areas. It looks like Gilead is just rife with people who really hate it. So let's see more of them.' Even Atwood herself, who notes that June does turn up at the end of her book, won't say for sure whether Moss—an executive producer on The Testaments—will have an on-camera role. 'If you're an underground resistance fighter, you're underground—that is the point. Nobody knows where you are,' the author said. 'Because if they do, you're going to be dead. June is always there, but in the background.' And just because June's in the book doesn't mean she's guaranteed to appear in the show. The THR piece notes that The Testaments takes liberties with its source material, much like the original series did. For instance: on the page, the story picks up 15 years after Handmaid's. On-screen, it'll be just four years later. Still, Littlefield explained, the story will feel fresh and different to what's come before. 'Aunt Lydia is really our only continuing character. Aunt Lydia has a school for girls to prepare them for womanhood and life in a Gilead world. What's so fascinating is that these young women have never known a world that's not a Gilead world. That's completely different from our June point of view that always was our rudder for The Handmaid's Tale. They're also teenagers. So there's a rebelliousness—there's attitude about everything.' There's no release date yet for The Testaments, but next year feels like a good guess. Will you be making the trip back to Gilead when it premieres?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dionne Warwick, Jamie Foxx Among Those Paying Tribute to Sly Stone: 'May He Rest in Paradise'
Hollywood is paying tribute to Sly Stone after news of the funk-rock pioneer's death was announced Monday. Stone died after a 'prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues,' his family said Monday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Secretly Group Acquires 50 Percent Stake in Merge Records Mariah Carey Signs Multi-Album Deal With Gamma Jessica Pratt, MJ Lenderman, Shaboozey Among Big Winners at 2025 Libera Awards 'Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family,' his family wrote in a statement. 'While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.' Sly shot to prominence in the music industry in 1968 alongside his band Sly and the Family Stone with their hit 'Dance to the Music,' which landed in the top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts. The group continued to deliver a series of crossover tracks, including 'Summer of Love,' including 'Stand!,' 'Hot Fun in the Summertime,' 'Runnin' Away,' 'If You Want Me to Stay' and 'Time for Livin',' which emerged to define their hometown of San Francisco. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Dionne Warwick, whom Sly used to play the keyboard for early in his career, said, 'I met Sly during his years as a DJ. I will miss him as I know everyone will. My condolences to his family.' At the 2025 BET Awards carpet, Grammy nominee Durand Bernarr told THR, 'I hope that he knew he was loved and he was respected and we're rooting for him.' Also at the BET Awards, American Idol alum and 'Over' singer Lucky Daye commemorated his influence on the music industry, also telling THR, 'May he rest in paradise today.' In a statement to THR, Grammy winner Ray Parker Jr. said, 'He was my hero. Sly wrote the best songs in the world and bridge the black and white worlds like no other. I'm pretty sure every one of his albums had a No. 1 Pop hit. The guitars on 'Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself' speak for themselves. There's never been anything like it before and is hard to imagine will be again.' Paul Stanley, co-founder and co-lead vocalist of KISS, said on X, 'Sly Stone Has Died. In 1968 I saw Sly & the Family Stone debut at the Fillmore East in New York City opening for Jimi Hendrix. They were a freight train of bombastic, joyous SouI that would soon climb the charts and change the sound of R&B for so many other artists. Rest In Soul!' On Instagram, Jamie Foxx wrote, 'Legend RIP SLY.' Questlove, director of the Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) documentary, paid tribute to Sly on Instagram, writing, 'From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul. Sly was a giant — not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Stone, but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note. His songs weren't just about fighting injustice; they were about transforming the self to transform the world. He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths.' The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into in 1993, wrote on X, '1993 Inductees Sly & The Family Stone made it possible for Black popular music to burst free on its own terms, with singer, songwriter, and producer @HigherSlyStone at the helm, extending the boundaries of pop and R&B with each new song.' The Sundance Film Festival also shared a statement on X: 'Sly Stone changed music forever. A visionary, a rebel, a genius. His sound shaped generations and his spirit broke boundaries.' Below, read more tributes to Stone. "You should know that he was a genius" – PJ Morton remembers Sly Stone on the red carpet at the #BETAwards — The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 9, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Holly Robinson Peete (@hollyrpeete) Sly Stone changed FUNK FOREVER. With the Family Stone, he fused groove, soul, and psychedelia into something bold and alive. Integrated in sound and spirit, the band broke every rule. His influence is everywhere funk has gone and everywhere it's still in peace, Sly.… — Okayplayer (@okayplayer) June 9, 2025 Rest In Beats SLY Stone ..and we should THANK @questlove of @theroots for keeping his FIRE blazing in this Century. 2 documentaries and book . GET EM — Chuck D (@MrChuckD) June 9, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eric Johnson (@upstairsaterics) Rest easy Sly Stone. You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan's audience in 1968. Simply magical. — Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) June 9, 2025 RIP Sly Stone (1943–2025), the funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher. His music changed everything—and it still does. — Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) June 9, 2025 Rest in peace, Sly…🖤 Today, the legendary Sly Stone from Sly and the Family Stone, has passed away at age 82…In honor of his legacy here's an incredible clip of Sly and the Family Stone performing 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)' — Melodies & Masterpieces (@SVG__Collection) June 9, 2025 Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Eddington Reviews: Pedro Pascal & Emma Stone Movie Divides Critics at Cannes
reviews are beginning to pour in after the film's premiere at Cannes, and responses to the film are polarizing for Ari Aster's latest. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has garnered a 67% score with just 12 reviews in as of now. All 12 of the reviews come from the film's premiere at Cannes, and paint a polarizing picture for what fans can expect. Indiewire's David Ehrlich loved the film, saying it 'captures the day-to-day extent to which our digital future has stripped people of their ability to self-identify their own truths.' Likewise, Variety's Owen Gleiberman noted that the film features much of what makes Aster a 'stimulating filmmaker,' even if he indulges in himself a bit too much. Deadline's Damon Wise praised the film's satirical take on COVID and modern times, saying that 'without ceremony or mercy, Eddington rips the Band-Aid off, and not everyone is going to want to look at, or think about, what's there underneath it.' Not every review was popular, though. The Financial Times' Raphael Abraham said the film 'boils down to is a big-screen amplification of a billion 'WTF is going on?!' posts rather than any kind of coherent response to them.' The Times' Kevin Maher similarly said the film feels 'unsure of what it wants to say.' Eddington stars Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, and Amélie Hoeferle. 'A small-town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico,' the official synopsis for Eddington reads. Eddington will be released in United States theaters on July 18, 2025, from A24. The post Eddington Reviews: Pedro Pascal & Emma Stone Movie Divides Critics at Cannes appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
