Latest news with #PrinceEstate
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oscar Winner Ezra Edelman Slams ‘Short-Sighted' Netflix Over Scrapped Prince Doc: ‘My Art Is Being Stifled'
Ezra Edelman did not mince words when asked for his perspective on his Prince documentary being scrapped at Netflix. While on the 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' podcast in an episode that aired Tuesday, the Oscar-winning 'O.J.: Made in America' director said Netflix and Prince's estate thinking his nine-hour, six-part docuseries would harm the artist's legacy is 'a joke.' 'Here's the one thing they were allowed to do – check for factual inaccuracies,' Edelman said. 'Guess what? They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues, not factual issues. 'You think I have any interest in putting out a film that is factually inaccurate?' Edelman was quick to point out that Prince championed artistic freedom and now a documentary about his life is being blocked for its maker's own creative decisions. 'I'm not Prince, but I worked really hard making something and now my art is being stifled and thrown away,' he said. Watch a segment from the interview below: Edelman later added, 'I can't get past this – the short-sightedness of a group of people whose interest is their own bottom line. They're afraid of his humanity. The lawyer who runs the estate essentially said he believed this would do generational harm to Prince.' Netflix and the Prince estate released a statement in early February announcing that Edelman's project would not release and the streamer would be putting together a different documentary on the legend. 'The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive,' Netflix said in a statement. 'As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.' When Edelman signed on for the project, he was given access to the late artist's archives to produce a six-hour series. According to a report by the New York Times, he instead turned in a nine-hour cut of the docuseries that included Prince's ex-girlfriends accusing him of both physical and emotional abuse. 'This is a gift — a nine-hour treatment about an artist that was, by the way, f–king brilliant,' Edelman finished. 'Everything about who you believe he is is in this movie. You get to bathe in his genius. And yet you also have to confront his humanity.' The post Oscar Winner Ezra Edelman Slams 'Short-Sighted' Netflix Over Scrapped Prince Doc: 'My Art Is Being Stifled' appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Long-awaited nine-hour documentary on Prince shelved by Netflix
A long-awaited nine-hour documentary on Prince has been shelved by Netflix. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman the project has reportedly been canned following tensions with the late 'Purple Rain' singer's estate, with it and the streamer confirming in a joint statement on Friday (07.02.25) that they would be moving in a different direction. It said: 'The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive. As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.' Filmmaker Ezra, 50, had been working on the project since 2019 after being approached by Netflix. According to The New York Times, the deal granted him and Netflix final cut, while the estate retained rights to review the film for factual accuracy. The estate was shown a cut of the documentary in 2023 and responded with a 17-page list of requested changes, according to attorney L Londell McMillan, one of the estate's administrators. While Ezra agreed to some, he declined others. New York Times culture reporter Sasha Weiss, who attended a private screening of the film, described the documentary as a 'cursed masterpiece' and reported it provided an in-depth exploration of Prince's music, career, and personal life – including aspects he had kept private before his death in 2016 at the age of 57. The documentary included interviews with more than 70 people, as well as never-before-seen footage from Prince's vault. Among the topics reportedly covered were the loss of Prince's infant son with his ex-wife Mayte Garcia, his difficult childhood, and allegations of physical abuse from former partners. According to The New York Times, one scene featured singer Jill Jones recounting an incident in 1984 in which she claimed the musician had punched her repeatedly. A report from Variety in July suggested the project was already 'dead in the water' following the screening, with estate representatives claiming it was factually inaccurate and 'sensationalised'.
CBS News
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Prince Estate and Netflix cut ties on documentary
MINNEAPOLIS — A nine-hour documentary exploring the life of Prince will not be released on Netflix, and a new film will be produced by the Prince Estate. A statement posted on the official Prince Facebook page Thursday said the following: "The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive. As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released." A 30-second video was posted on Prince's official X page Thursday with accompanying text saying "The Vault Has Been Freed. #FREE." Oscar-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman had worked for nearly five years on the documentary exploring every facet of Prince's humanity, from his genius to his flaws. Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor for the New York Times Magazine, has spent around one-and-a-half years reporting on the film's creation, and its shelving. She says Prince's estate changed leadership while it was being made. "Nobody from the estate spoke with me on the record, but my sense is that they don't like this really complicated, checkered, sometimes negative portrayal of Prince," she said during an interview with WCCO in January. Weiss says Edelman interviewed more than 70 people for the documentary. Charles Spicer with Prince Legacy, one of the companies that owns Prince's estate, tweeted in September, "Would you be OK with a director putting explicit coroner photos of your loved one in a documentary? #showsomedignityandrespect." Note: The above video first aired on Jan. 9, 2025.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Controversial Prince Netflix Documentary Will Not Be Released, Estate Is Free to Create New Project
Netflix has canceled the release of what was supposed to be a six-part Prince documentary directed by Ezra Edelman. 'The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive,' Netflix said in a statement shared with Variety on Thursday. 'As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.' More from Variety Netflix Nearing $5 Million Deal for 'Perfect Neighbor,' Sundance Documentary About Florida's Stand Your Ground Law (EXCLUSIVE) Netflix, Max and Prime Video Negotiate With French Film Guilds for Earlier Access to New Releases After Disney+ Deal Robert De Niro Says Filming 'Zero Day,' His First Big TV Role, Was Like 'Swimming the English Channel': 'I Gotta Keep Going, Otherwise I'm Gonna Sink' Upon making this news public, Prince's estate published a video on X touting 'the vault has been freed,' and including the hashtag 'Free.' Representatives for the late artist's estate previously claimed a first cut of the film was filled with 'dramatic' factual inaccuracies and 'sensationalized' renderings of certain events from his life, according to sources close to the situation. Edelman, best known for creating the 'O.J.: Made in America' documentary, had been quietly working on the film for over four years. Edelman, who was enlisted to replace original director Ava DuVernay, was given extensive access to Prince's archives. The first drafts for the deal — made between Netflix and representatives of Comerica Bank, the interim executor for Prince's estate — called for a six-hour series, though Edelman reportedly delivered nine hours of footage, a violation of the agreement that presumably enabled the estate to withhold music rights. According to a September report from The New York Times, the documentary featured Prince's ex-girlfriends accusing him of physical and emotional abuse. The film touched on Prince's journey — both on his artistry and his personal relationships — with accounts of his own abusive childhood and the abandonment of his young wife Mayte Garcia after the couple lost their child, the Times reported. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025
Los Angeles Times
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Prince documentary canceled at Netflix, singer's estate to develop new project
Netflix will no longer release a nine-hour documentary about music icon Prince after years of development. The late singer's estate will develop its own film. The completed documentary was directed by Oscar winner Ezra Edelman, best known for 'O.J.: Made in America.' Edelman was granted unprecedented access to Prince's archives, dubbed 'the vault' by his estate. The documentary, seen by only a handful of people, was reported by the New York Times Magazine to contain testimonies from the musician's former girlfriends and others alleging physical and emotional abuse. 'The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive,' Netflix and the estate said in a joint statement to The Times on Friday. 'As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.' Representatives for Edelman did not immediately return The Times' requests for comment. On X, the estate also posted a video celebrating that the 'vault' had been 'freed.' 'Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people,' the video's on-screen text reads. 'The truth is, you are either here to enlighten or discourage.' The documentary was said to include interviews with people close to Prince beyond his former girlfriends, including bandmates, sound engineers, assistants, bodyguards, managers, childhood friends, record-company executives and one of his sisters, per the New York Times Magazine. Variety reported in July 2024 that after more than four years of development, the estate and the streamer were clashing over the estate's claim that the documentary 'sensationalized' versions of the singer's life events. The estate also alleged there were ' 'dramatic' factual inaccuracies.' The 'Purple Rain' singer, who died from a fentanyl overdose in 2016, did not have a will. His estate was said to be valued at about $300 million at the time of his death. Determining the heirs of his estate and how his fortune would be distributed and managed has turned into a long and complex legal saga. In 2022, the estate changed administration to some of his heirs, associates and the music publisher Primary Wave. Around the time of this change is said to be when the estate starting pushing back against Edelman's access to 'the vault' and the creative direction of the doc. Additional information on the estate's plans to develop a separate documentary project were not immediately available.
