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Thread started 12/22/17 9:12am

Robbajobba

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Jan 2nd - Channel 4 (UK) Prince Doc

Can't see this article linked to elsewhere, but there's an article in Broadcast, a UK TV trade magazine, about the upcoming Lincoln Square doc. Here's the text (can't post a link as you need to subscribe).

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(Mods please delete if this is against the rules)

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Prince: Last Year of a Legend, Channel 4

Intrigued by the mysterious death of this enigmatic performer, we set out to trace the last year of Prince’s life. We discovered an artist challenging himself right to the end, says Adrian Sibley

Production company Lincoln Square Productions
Commissioner Siobhan Sinnerton
Length 1 x 60 minutes
TX 10pm, 2 January 2018, Channel 4
Executive producer Dan Goldsack
Creative director Sheldon Lazarus
Head of production Elaine Day
Line producer Amanda Day-Moore
DoP Anton Jeffes
Archive producer Mark Tinkler
Editors Duncan Buchanan; Duncan Thomson
Composer Greg De Belles
Post-production Directors’ Cut

When Prince died unexpectedly at Paisley Park in August 2016, it didn’t make sense. Here was an apparently healthy 57-year-old vegetarian and practising Jehovah’s Witness – with a swear box at home no less – who had died from an overdose of fentanyl, a seriously strong painkiller.

So when Lincoln Square boss Sheldon Lazarus contacted me with the enticing opportunity of making a film about the reclusive star for Channel 4, I told him I wanted to find out what was really happening in the last year of Prince’s life.C4 commissioner Siobhan Sinnerton agreed that this would be the best way to shed light on his mysterious death. But how were we going to convince those closest to Prince to speak about the last days of this very private and enigmatic man?Siobhan urged me to meet Prince fan Mobeen Azhar, a talented film-maker who turned out to be the perfect guide through the pop star’s complicated court, which was in disarray following his death.The singer had left a vacuum and family members, lawyers and record companies were vying to take control.

When I flew to the US with DoP Anton Jeffes for a 10-day whirlwind tour, our cast was largely lined up. I wondered whether they would reveal fresh insights – and whether there was actually someone to know behind the public mask of a man who lived and breathed music.
In New York, Rev Al Sharpton reassuringly set the tone with his candour and humour, talking about Prince’s secret gig with Stevie Wonder at the White House for the Obamas, and how his growing activism and support of Black Lives Matter really did matter. Chicago based-singer Eryn Allen Kaye told us about flying to Paisley Park immediately after getting the call from Prince to sing on his protest song Baltimore, which he had written about the unrest in the city prompted by the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. They performed it together at Prince’s Rally4Peace concert just days later in Baltimore, where British singer Estelle also got the opportunity to perform Purple Rain with her hero.
When we arrived in Prince’s birthplace of Minneapolis, it was exactly a year after he had died and its bridges and many buildings were lit up in purple. We wanted to capture the city from Prince’s point of view and often filmed with an Osmo, which Anton had attached to our car to give a sense of him darting around the city and beyond.
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Favourite haunts
Our fixer Courtney Crockett took us to Prince’s favourite haunts, like Electric Fetus, the record store through which he released his last album, and The Dakota Jazz Club, where we watched a performance by his ex-girlfriend Andy Allo and Shelby J, hearing for ourselves the influence Prince had on many younger musicians.
We even had an audience with a resplendent George Clinton, who first met Prince in the late ’70s. Moving memories flowed, as did the tears. In LA, CeeLo Green talked about the joy of seeing Prince perform solo on a piano in Atlanta, breaking down as he remembered meeting him backstage after what turned out to be his final concert. Once back home, I was excited by the dynamic footage that archive producer Mark Tinkler had sourced from fans who had captured Prince’s Rally4Peace and final concerts on their phones. With some deft editing, we squeezed in Prince rocking out with Kendrick Lamar at Paisley Park; his performance of Purple Rain from his epic Super Bowl half-time show; and his acclaimed guitar solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Our documentary may not answer the question of why Prince died; indeed, his heartbroken friends were at a loss to explain it and many were surprised by his painkiller addiction.
But we did uncover a reinvigorated artist with an unbelievable work ethic who was making great music and taking on new challenges right to the end.

PROTECTING PRINCE’S LEGACY
Dan Goldsack - executive producer:
Embarking on a film about Prince carried a lot of responsibility. He was a master of his music and his image, once famously giving up his name to own his career and legacy. After he died, he could no longer protect that well-guarded myth – so we became custodians of it. When I joined the project, Adrian had already gained the trust of many of those closest to Prince. They felt the tabloid press had focused too much on the details of his death. By focusing on his last year, in which he exhibited fierce creative energy, we had an opportunity to hear first-hand testimony from the friends and musicians who were with him during this time. Since Prince was a global star who jetted around the world on his private plane, the film would have several key locations. We needed to travel to five US cities and, crucially, to Sydney, where Prince launched his first solo tour. Securing meaningful talking heads never comes easily. We wanted to feature previously unheard voices, not rent-a-tributes.
Co-producer Laura Hartley burned the midnight oil juggling our interviewees’ availability from here in the UK. As logistical constraints prevented a trip to Sydney, we enlisted an Australia-based producer friend of Adrian’s, Mandy Chang, to direct the interview with Prince’s photographer, Justine Walpole.
Many fans had captured a few seconds of what would turn out to be Prince’s final performances. Seeing him through the eyes – and iPhones – of his fans gives the film a unique perspective. Like pieces in a puzzle, we were able to marry up phone footage from multiple angles to bring to life Prince’s Rally4Peace concert and solo dates featuring his final haunting performance of Purple Rain.
Our mantra became: ‘We need to do Prince justice’. I hope we have.

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Reply #1 posted 12/22/17 9:26am

pinkcashmere23

Sounds interesting and like it will mainly focus on the music and projects he was working on at the time.Thanks for sharing! Hope those in the US can see it somehow.

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Reply #2 posted 12/22/17 9:31am

Silvertongue7

Annoyingly I’m not in the UK the first week of the new year. Will have to wait :/
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Reply #3 posted 12/24/17 4:24am

Dandroppedadim
e

Glad it'd on C4 not C5, should be fairly unbiased and balanced (hoprfiully)!

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Reply #4 posted 12/25/17 6:12pm

ludwig

Robbajobba said:

When Prince died unexpectedly at Paisley Park in August 2016, it didn’t make sense.

He died in april 2016. "journalists".....

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Reply #5 posted 12/26/17 11:33am

ISaidLifeIsJus
tAGame

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It sound interesting.

I hope we will be able to see it in the States.

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Reply #6 posted 12/27/17 9:40am

pinkcashmere23

Dr.Funkenberry just posted on Facebook that the show does not have US distribution and will not be seen here.

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Reply #7 posted 01/01/18 11:32am

percy28

I met these guys in April , they where quite rude and didn’t really know much about prince or really care .
I don’t have much hope for this .
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Reply #8 posted 01/01/18 11:48am

pinkcashmere23

Hopefully there will be more concert footage than anything.Dr.Funkenberry said on Twitter that he's nervous about it.From a review I read earlier it sounds like it's a positive documentary with performance clips.They did say there was too much footage of people talking about his greatness and how "funky"he was and would have been better if they had shown more performance clips in their place.They also said it was a bit grim in that it follows the days leading up to the concert in Atlanta and his passing.

[Edited 1/1/18 16:13pm]

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Reply #9 posted 01/01/18 7:26pm

laurarichardso
n

percy28 said:

I met these guys in April , they where quite rude and didn’t really know much about prince or really care .
I don’t have much hope for this .

—-More assholes trying to make a buck.
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Reply #10 posted 01/01/18 11:06pm

Mumio

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laurarichardson said:

percy28 said:
I met these guys in April , they where quite rude and didn’t really know much about prince or really care . I don’t have much hope for this .
—-More assholes trying to make a buck.


sad

Welcome to "the org", Mumio…they can have you, but I'll have your love in the end nod
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Reply #11 posted 01/02/18 3:15am

KeithyT

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I'm in on my own tonight so will be watching this, and no doubt feeling a little reflective and melancholy...

I didn't mind the Channel 5 one from last year apart from the rather "awful" dramatised moments (especially the band rehearsal bit).

Just somewhere in the middle,
Not too good and not too bad.
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Reply #12 posted 01/02/18 6:22am

PURPLEIZED3121

dreading watching this tonight. Shows like this will reveal very little that we hardcore dont already know + there will be zero definitive conclusions as to what happened on his final day.

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Reply #13 posted 01/02/18 7:39am

HerecomethePur
pleYoda

D
[Edited 4/15/18 12:11pm]
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Reply #14 posted 01/02/18 8:11am

ISaidLifeIsJus
tAGame

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I just read the article and it says April and not August.

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Reply #15 posted 01/02/18 10:48am

catpark

I will be watching this very attentively tonight. Bashing my boyfriends (and one else that crosses my path) ear fiercely if I see any smidgen of bs. As I did for the ch5 one for days on end, which I thought was not very good, that Prince lookalike actor was getting right on my nerves. The only thing that really caught me off guard that had me in flood of tears was seeing Willie Pepe(I think I've spelt his name wrong, P's childhood friend) breaking down at the end of the documentary, wow realise my loss for P became less important, although I'm still devastated, I cannot imagine what the people that knew him are going through still.. Anyway I have high hopes for ch4 as they were always firm fans of him ever since they started this channel. I remember them showing a Parade concert back in the 80s! Where no others would, then they showed SOTT and Lovesexy. And loads of other things through the decades. We will see as every dedication I've seen of him has for me been crap so far.
FUNKNROLL! dancing jig "February 2014, wow". 'dre. nod
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Reply #16 posted 01/02/18 11:07am

laurarichardso
n

catpark said:

I will be watching this very attentively tonight. Bashing my boyfriends (and one else that crosses my path) ear fiercely if I see any smidgen of bs. As I did for the ch5 one for days on end, which I thought was not very good, that Prince lookalike actor was getting right on my nerves. The only thing that really caught me off guard that had me in flood of tears was seeing Willie Pepe(I think I've spelt his name wrong, P's childhood friend) breaking down at the end of the documentary, wow realise my loss for P became less important, although I'm still devastated, I cannot imagine what the people that knew him are going through still.. Anyway I have high hopes for ch4 as they were always firm fans of him ever since they started this channel. I remember them showing a Parade concert back in the 80s! Where no others would, then they showed SOTT and Lovesexy. And loads of other things through the decades. We will see as every dedication I've seen of him has for me been crap so far.

Pepe no doubt feels guilty he has been making a buck off those stupid recordings for years.

I think a lot of people took Prince for granted in his inner circle even family members and now they feel bad. Treat people right when they are alive and well should be the lesson.

Everybody is not talented and will not be successful be happy for those that are and do not try to live vicariously thought someone else. I bet P never spoke to him again after he put out the 94 East Mess and used Prince' s name to advertise it.

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Reply #17 posted 01/02/18 11:21am

morningsong

*waiting patiencly for feedback*




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Reply #18 posted 01/02/18 12:54pm

GTsymbolover

Looking forward to this, sounds intelligent enough to be decent.
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Reply #19 posted 01/02/18 1:37pm

mikeyaddict

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catpark said:

I will be watching this very attentively tonight. Bashing my boyfriends (and one else that crosses my path) ear fiercely if I see any smidgen of bs. As I did for the ch5 one for days on end, which I thought was not very good, that Prince lookalike actor was getting right on my nerves. The only thing that really caught me off guard that had me in flood of tears was seeing Willie Pepe(I think I've spelt his name wrong, P's childhood friend) breaking down at the end of the documentary, wow realise my loss for P became less important, although I'm still devastated, I cannot imagine what the people that knew him are going through still.. Anyway I have high hopes for ch4 as they were always firm fans of him ever since they started this channel. I remember them showing a Parade concert back in the 80s! Where no others would, then they showed SOTT and Lovesexy. And loads of other things through the decades. We will see as every dedication I've seen of him has for me been crap so far.


I think the beautiful experience and beautiful strange were also channel 4 - they also showed parts of a show from that period too. Played the shit out of that video.

Hope it’ll be ok - but channel 4 have also had some aberrations and can go to the lowest common denominator at times.
Comin str8 outta Preston...
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Reply #20 posted 01/02/18 2:19pm

antonb

So far its not too bad, and pretty respectfull

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Reply #21 posted 01/02/18 2:34pm

GTsymbolover

It’s very insightful, good footage and lots of detail.
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Reply #22 posted 01/02/18 2:36pm

paradise000

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http://www.freeintertv.com/view/id-2481

I am able to watch it from Europe. After two or three minutes you have to click again
'cause you got to know...how I feel about you babe
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Reply #23 posted 01/02/18 2:40pm

jjam

Nice plug for Eye Records re the usage of Piano & A Microphone live audio. WTF?!?

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Reply #24 posted 01/02/18 2:42pm

GTsymbolover

jjam said:

Nice plug for Eye Records re the usage of Piano & A Microphone live audio. WTF?!?





What are you moaning about?
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Reply #25 posted 01/02/18 2:45pm

Darshy

Everyone's crying, and so am I
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Reply #26 posted 01/02/18 2:46pm

antonb

i dont think we can complain, its been like a love letter to him so far,

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Reply #27 posted 01/02/18 2:48pm

jjam

GTsymbolover said:

jjam said:

Nice plug for Eye Records re the usage of Piano & A Microphone live audio. WTF?!?

What are you moaning about?

Happy new year to you too.

Er, did you not see the credit given to Eye Records re audio from the Piano & A Microphone Gala Paisley Park show?

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Reply #28 posted 01/02/18 3:01pm

paradise000

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that was beautiful...hard to watch at times.

People were very emotional.

rose

'cause you got to know...how I feel about you babe
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Reply #29 posted 01/02/18 3:03pm

jjam

It was certainly much better than I thought it would be.

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