Netflix’s Prince Documentary “Dead In The Water” Amid Estate Objections

July 23, 2024

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The long-awaited Prince documentary scheduled to air on Netflix is on hold. The documentary deal was first signed in 2018, with Ava Duvernay attached as director. She dropped out of the project with little public explanation and Oscar-winning Ezra Edelman took over.

Edelman won the Oscar for his five-part documentary OJ: Made in America which covered not just the murders and their aftermath, but Simpson’s impact on the culture. Given his track record, it was expected that Edelman would take the same tone with the Prince doc.

The project was always slated to be a multi-part documentary, but Edelman’s initial cut clocked in at nine hours, three over the contracted limit. But according to recent reports, that’s not the main reason the doc has been held up.

It’s the content that the Prince Estate is not signing off on. Originally reported by Puck, a paywalled website that covers the film and entertainment community, it seems the Estate objects to the portrayal of the late artist.

A source described as a “music insider” told Page Six that the Prince estate has been “nitpicky” over the project.

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“You never saw Prince release anything subpar,” the insider said. “Everything was carefully curated and fine-tuned. The estate still holds that high standard.” They added that the doc doesn’t “accurately represent him.”

The Prince Estate which includes merchandising rights, music and other music-related issues, is controlled by Prince Legacy LLC – Charles Spicer and Londell McMillan, Prince’s former lawyer, and Primary Wave, a well-funded music management company that has gobbled up the estates and publishing rights for several icons both dead and alive. Each entity has a 50% interest in the Estate and must both agree on Prince-related projects.

Purple Rain The Musical scheduled for next year is one of those projects, which was previewed at this year’s annual Prince Celebration in Minneapolis.

So far no official word from any stakeholders involved including Edelman about the delay. The Puck report says he’s proud of his work on the nine-hour doc and has no resolve to cut it down. Netflix has said that they believe they can come to a compromise, but until then, the Prince doc remains on the shelf.