Militant said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Did anyone else watch the recent 'Mystify: Michael Hutchence' movie?

Like the Amy Winehouse film 'Amy' is was fantastic (if not sad).

Baring in mind that there is probably ten times more recorded archive footage on Prince, in the right hands it could be one hell of a documentary.

.

The correct expression is "bear in mind".

.

Lots of the footage etc. in the Hutchence doc is very intimate and lots of the people involved were extremely open; it's yet to be seen whether such footage exists of Prince or whether those that were close to him are willing to open up.

.

More relevant would be to compare it to the Bowie docs done in recent years by the BBC -- but here as well I doubt something similar can be done WRT Prince, because for the Bowie docs they had access to plenty of interviews Bowie had done over his lifetime.

BartVanHemelen said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Did anyone else watch the recent 'Mystify: Michael Hutchence' movie?

Like the Amy Winehouse film 'Amy' is was fantastic (if not sad).

Baring in mind that there is probably ten times more recorded archive footage on Prince, in the right hands it could be one hell of a documentary.

.

The correct expression is "bear in mind".

.

Lots of the footage etc. in the Hutchence doc is very intimate and lots of the people involved were extremely open; it's yet to be seen whether such footage exists of Prince or whether those that were close to him are willing to open up.

.

More relevant would be to compare it to the Bowie docs done in recent years by the BBC -- but here as well I doubt something similar can be done WRT Prince, because for the Bowie docs they had access to plenty of interviews Bowie had done over his lifetime.

I am also concerned if those who really knew him will open up. I think there is a residual pattern of keeping knowledge close to the vest.

And Prince tended to be somewhat opaque in his interviews.

rdhull said:

ladygirl99 said:

I really wish people stop blaming Ava and Oprah on the MJ documentary . Typical always going after the women

Right back at ya.

ladygirl99 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

macaylasdad said:

it should of been Spike Lee.... you know he wouldn't of f----- it up.

.

Learn the difference between "of" and "have".

.

And Spike's documentaries about MJ are fairly boring.

Unpopular opinion: I think Spike Lee should stay as far away from this Prince doc as possible.

BartVanHemelen said:

macaylasdad said:

it should of been Spike Lee.... you know he wouldn't of f----- it up.

.

Learn the difference between "of" and "have".

.

And Spike's documentaries about MJ are fairly boring.

[Snip - luv4u]

PennyPurple said:

Alex Hahn

Admin · 2 hrs

While I apologize for the somewhat cryptic nature of this post, I'm happy to report that the multi-part Prince Netflix documentary, which was formerly being helmed by Ava Duvernay before she left as a result of reported creative differences, is still in process.

I had a lengthy conversation with the director the other day, who reached out to me to exchange ideas. His name has not been released to the media, so I'll keep it confidential. However, he is a skilled and well-established documentarian. He is thinking carefully and rigorously about the nature of the story he wants to tell. While he obviously loves Prince's music, he is approaching the project with the measured distance of an inquiring, probing journalist.

I found the discussion personally inspiring and stimulating. He had studied my own books in detail and asked about my current writing and perspectives on Prince.

For me personally, the trajectory of the last several years has been very clear, and rather underscores the notion that it's hard to do more than one thing well at once. The bulk of 2017 was spent on "The Rise of Prince." Much of 2018 was spent recording my album "The Erotic Review," and then 2019 saw a renaissance of my law practice. But I do miss writing about Prince and making music, and despite the odds it would be great if somehow 2020 could involve all three of these endeavors in some measure.

As for the Netflix series, I'm sure it will take quite a while to complete, but I'm feeling happy that the project is in extremely capable hands.

Thanks for the post. I am somewhat chagrined at the continuing secrecy re:this documentarian.

I'm guessing that they aren't naming names because, while the guy is an established documentary maker, he's not a big flashy name or somebody with a prestigious pedigree.


Or maybe we'll get lucky and they're just not announcing since it's so far away. Who knows.

It's another Prince(r.i.p.) documentary that has been completed. That was shown at a ULTRA private viewing at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.That features among others Chaka Khan. It was held up many times because she couldn't remember a lot.

My insider info from last year complained that it was too popular Prince-centric around the things and music that were already popular and known about.

I'm guessing too much on Purple Rain, We Are the World party foul, and name change and JW stuff... maybe?

As opposed to tour visions and execution, movies, TV performances, music phases, collaborations, recording session stories?

PeggyO said:

PennyPurple said:

Alex Hahn

Admin · 2 hrs

While I apologize for the somewhat cryptic nature of this post, I'm happy to report that the multi-part Prince Netflix documentary, which was formerly being helmed by Ava Duvernay before she left as a result of reported creative differences, is still in process.

I had a lengthy conversation with the director the other day, who reached out to me to exchange ideas. His name has not been released to the media, so I'll keep it confidential. However, he is a skilled and well-established documentarian. He is thinking carefully and rigorously about the nature of the story he wants to tell. While he obviously loves Prince's music, he is approaching the project with the measured distance of an inquiring, probing journalist.

I found the discussion personally inspiring and stimulating. He had studied my own books in detail and asked about my current writing and perspectives on Prince.

For me personally, the trajectory of the last several years has been very clear, and rather underscores the notion that it's hard to do more than one thing well at once. The bulk of 2017 was spent on "The Rise of Prince." Much of 2018 was spent recording my album "The Erotic Review," and then 2019 saw a renaissance of my law practice. But I do miss writing about Prince and making music, and despite the odds it would be great if somehow 2020 could involve all three of these endeavors in some measure.

As for the Netflix series, I'm sure it will take quite a while to complete, but I'm feeling happy that the project is in extremely capable hands.

Thanks for the post. I am somewhat chagrined at the continuing secrecy re:this documentarian.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

[Snip - luv4u]

Can't say I am ecstatic aboit Alex being involved given the hugely cynical Rise & fall book from a few years back. I have zero confidence that a journalist would have the slightest inkling of what treasures we would want to see from the vault. Fan input is essential.

PeggyO said:

PennyPurple said:

Alex Hahn

Admin · 2 hrs

While I apologize for the somewhat cryptic nature of this post, I'm happy to report that the multi-part Prince Netflix documentary, which was formerly being helmed by Ava Duvernay before she left as a result of reported creative differences, is still in process.

I had a lengthy conversation with the director the other day, who reached out to me to exchange ideas. His name has not been released to the media, so I'll keep it confidential. However, he is a skilled and well-established documentarian. He is thinking carefully and rigorously about the nature of the story he wants to tell. While he obviously loves Prince's music, he is approaching the project with the measured distance of an inquiring, probing journalist.

I found the discussion personally inspiring and stimulating. He had studied my own books in detail and asked about my current writing and perspectives on Prince.

For me personally, the trajectory of the last several years has been very clear, and rather underscores the notion that it's hard to do more than one thing well at once. The bulk of 2017 was spent on "The Rise of Prince." Much of 2018 was spent recording my album "The Erotic Review," and then 2019 saw a renaissance of my law practice. But I do miss writing about Prince and making music, and despite the odds it would be great if somehow 2020 could involve all three of these endeavors in some measure.

As for the Netflix series, I'm sure it will take quite a while to complete, but I'm feeling happy that the project is in extremely capable hands.

Thanks for the post. I am somewhat chagrined at the continuing secrecy re:this documentarian.

[Snip - luv4u]

[Snip - luv4u]

BartVanHemelen said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Can't say I am ecstatic aboit Alex being involved given the hugely cynical Rise & fall book from a few years back. I have zero confidence that a journalist would have the slightest inkling of what treasures we would want to see from the vault. Fan input is essential.

That's what I thought too, just didn't want to say it.

PeggyO said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

I think people need to stop mentioning things like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man, this is not going to be a bi-opic it's a documentary which is a good thing. If it turns into a bio piece it's going to be ridiculous regardless who does it, because they test focus those things. Queen the,selves admit there is a lot of things in the movie that did not happen at all, as for the Elton piece is way too Hollywood, I'd rather see a documentary on Prince and hear from people around him rather than some bad actor in a wig doing cheesy lines. You should and they should watch a documentary called MYSTIFY just done by Richard Lowenstein about Michael Hutchences life and death.

lastdecember said:

I think people need to stop mentioning things like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man, this is not going to be a bi-opic it's a documentary which is a good thing. If it turns into a bio piece it's going to be ridiculous regardless who does it, because they test focus those things. Queen the,selves admit there is a lot of things in the movie that did not happen at all, as for the Elton piece is way too Hollywood, I'd rather see a documentary on Prince and hear from people around him rather than some bad actor in a wig doing cheesy lines. You should and they should watch a documentary called MYSTIFY just done by Richard Lowenstein about Michael Hutchences life and death.

I just wanted to clarify why I mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody. That movie was a 'white-wash' of Freddy Mercury and that is my concern about any 'treatment' of Prince. I am hoping the director feels free to present Prince as full-fleshed out and does feel pressured to stick to the party line.

And as Bart mentioned, that those close to him feel free to really open up.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Can't say I am ecstatic aboit Alex being involved given the hugely cynical Rise & fall book from a few years back.

.

Try reading his latest book. Also, it wasn't cynical, and it was published in 2003, not "a few years back".

.

I have zero confidence that a journalist would have the slightest inkling of what treasures we would want to see from the vault. Fan input is essential.

.

It's a documentary, not a jukebox.

macaylasdad said:

PeggyO said:

[Snip - luv4u]

[Snip - luv4u]

.

English was the third or fourth language I learned, after Dutch, French and possibly German.

klick2me said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

The correct expression is "bear in mind".

.

Lots of the footage etc. in the Hutchence doc is very intimate and lots of the people involved were extremely open; [b]it's yet to be seen whether such footage exists of Prince or whether those that were close to him are willing to open up.[/b]

.

More relevant would be to compare it to the Bowie docs done in recent years by the BBC -- but here as well I doubt something similar can be done WRT Prince, because for the Bowie docs they had access to plenty of interviews Bowie had done over his lifetime.

I read where Lenny Kravitz said Prince video recorded a specific time together when recording music and gave him a copy. Prince told him it was for his personal use only. It would be great if Lenny shared that. I'm sure there is plenty of footage like that with other artist as well.

.

I'm talking about non-music footage, e.g. people in an informal setting. As is clear from the context.

BartVanHemelen said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Can't say I am ecstatic aboit Alex being involved given the hugely cynical Rise & fall book from a few years back.

.

Try reading his latest book. Also, it wasn't cynical, and it was published in 2003, not "a few years back".

.

No Bart he redid his book and added to it, a few years back. We did read it, we even had a book club here on the Org about it.

Some great points made. Here's a question.

What do you want the documentary to be / consist of?

As BVH rightly points out it's a documentary not a jukebox. In my head I saw Ava's series as a safe , celebration of P & all his talents. Lots of interviews from friends, family & various band members / artsitic associates etc & FILLED with loads of unseen clips. Essentially a much bigger, better version of the classic BBC1 Omnibus doc.

However , if it is to be a documentary in the truest sense of the work it would cover the engative aspects too? i.e. career dips, poor treatment of those around him & of course his fnal days / battle with dependancy.

I would actually prefer a balance of the 2 & over the course of say 6 episodes - if that is still the plan? - there is much scope for a wide ranging picture of our man.

The Omnibus doc wasn't afraid of being negative, I see a place for people to argue why they think he lost it, but also why others think he didn't.