Photo Credit: Paisley Park
An upcoming Prince documentary has been held up because the documentary contains too much footage—more than nine hours worth.
Digital Music News reported on the start of a Prince documentary in 2018, after Netflix struck a deal with the Prince estate. The project was to be directed by Ava DuVernay, but she was replaced with director Ezra Edelman. The estate gave Edelman access to Prince’s music and archives for the project. Puck News reports that the documentary has been finished for a while now—but estate executors aren’t happy.
Sources say the estate has issues with parts of the documentary that they feel are inaccurate, using a technicality to keep Netflix from airing it. The contract calls for a six-hour length documentary about the singer, while the Edelman footage is more than nine hours. This difference puts the estate in dispute with Netflix, though the two sides are working on an agreement for the additional footage.
Since Prince died without a will, his estate has been divided between Prince Legacy, which includes his family and friends, and Prince OAT Holdings—which is controlled by Primary Wave Music. Both halves of the Prince estate must agree to changes for anything related to the musician. Speaking to the New York Post, one source called the estate “nitpicky” when it comes to footage and anything to do with the singer’s legacy.
“You never saw Prince release anything subpar. Everything was carefully curated and fine-tuned. The estate still holds that high standard,” says the source. Stating they had viewed the final cut of the documentary, this source says the film “does not accurately portray the legendary Prince.”
The Prince Legacy entity that manages his family and friends’ interest in his estate recently underwent legal drama. They’ve been attempting to amend an operating agreement with Prince Legacy to oust to executives at the company—L Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer. A Delaware court recently ruled against the family’s attempts, calling the attempt invalid. Prince’s half-sisters Sharon and Norrine Nelson, niece Breanna Nelson, and nephew Allen Nelson are shareholders.
