Prince: Netflix Documentary Won’t Air

A six-part documentary about Prince For Netflix directed by Ezra Edelman It “was a dud” after representatives of the late artist’s estate claimed an early version of the film was filled with “dramatic” factual inaccuracies and “sensationalized” depictions of events in his life, Variety reports.

Edelman, best known for the documentary “OJ: Made in America,” has been quietly working on the film for four years and says he is “devastated” by the impasse. Although the documentary deal called for a six-hour series, Edelman turned in nine hours, a breach of the agreement that allegedly allowed the estate to withhold the use of the music rights. Even if Netflix and Edelman retain the final version of the film, a Prince documentary without his music would face daunting, if not insurmountable, creative and commercial obstacles, rendering the entire body of work worthless.

The original deal for the documentary, never officially announced but first reported exclusively by Variety in 2018, was between Netflix and representatives of Comerica Bank, the interim executor of Prince’s estate.

Edelman, who came in to replace original director Ava DuVernay, had extensive access to Prince’s archives and produced a version of the film that was recently screened for industry insiders. Details about the alleged inaccuracies were not made clear, but an unnamed source insisted to the site Puck that “these are not revelations about drug use or sexual things.”

Conversely, sources told Variety that the ownership felt that some events had been “sensationalized” and not properly verified, and that such claims were met with opposition from Edelman.

As The New York Times reports, Edelmann said: “How can you tell the truth about someone when, when you talk to people, they all have different things to say? How can you tell the truth about someone who has never told the truth about himself?”

On the other hand, several sources told Puck and Variety that the problems were more about “control” and that the rights owners felt the documentary was not positive enough.

Prince’s estate has been and is the subject of much interest since the singer died in 2016 without leaving a will. However, the commercial results have been excellent since the rights, from which the six court-appointed heirs have directly emerged, have been divided into two camps. On one side, three of Prince’s six heirs, previously represented by Prince’s lawyer and former manager L. Londell McMillan, under the Prince Legacy; and on the other hand the Primary Wave Musicwho acquired the shares of the other three heirs.

Despite leadership uncertainty, infighting and a complicated legal battle at every turn — including a lawsuit filed this year by McMillan and colleague Charles Spicer alleging that four of Prince’s relatives are unfairly seeking to seize control of the estate — the partnership has produced several recent projects, including a deluxe box set of Prince’s hit final album, “Diamonds and Pearls” of 1991, containing dozens of unreleased songsand several initiatives related to the 40th anniversary of the album and the film “Purple Rain“. (Laws here And here)

Given their past differences, it is interesting to note that both sides had a similar reaction to the initial version of the documentary, although it was suggested that all parties were willing to reach a compromise.

The Prince in the documentary produced by Netflix will therefore be a Prince we will never see.

Meanwhile, Universal Pictures has started production on a musical film about Prince: the project, leaked to American press sources, involves the former director of “Black Panther” Ryan Coogler and the screenwriter Bryan Edward Hill. The Minneapolis musician is also taking a shine to the theater. Earlier this year, the Hollywood Reporter reported news of an upcoming theatrical adaptation of “Purple Rain”a 1984 film starring the Minneapolis singer, performer and composer. The musical, based on the original screenplay by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn, will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, who recently directed “Skin of Our Teeth” on Broadway.