Why would any serious film maker work with the Estate?

Why would any serious film maker work with the Estate?

Based on Ava Duvernay and Ezra Edelman both getting the short end of the stick on the Prince documentary, why would any real film maker want 2 work with the Prince Estate?

Actual comments from people who has seen the documentary doesnt line up with the B.S. comments from the Estate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJyzYvAKAuY

[Edited 2/14/25 13:34pm]

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #1 posted 02/13/25 11:43pm

SoulAlive	Yeah and I asked this question in another thread: exactly what kind of documentary do they (the estate) want?? Why do they keep having these “issues” with the filmmakers that they hire? It’s ridiculous.All these years keep going by and there is still no documentatary yet. .. [Edited 2/13/25 23:50pm]
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Reply #2 posted 02/14/25 8:28am

robertgeorge8

Get Spike Lee. He has done Michael Jackson documentaries that were worthwhile and stayed clear of the scandals (or accusations if you prefer). He has a long association with Prince and I feel could work quite fast.

From the tone of the question, I will agree that Spike Lee doesn't need the risk and potential waste of a couple of his creative years with the Estate.

Spike has a history of Prince love, having grown up in the home of a Jazz musician composer Bill Lee (who composed for his films) , having done feature films (mo betta blues deals with Jazz), advertisements, documentaries he is versatile and has even done sport documentaries (Kobe doin' work).

Spike is your man. He was given Prince songs and at the time unrelesed songs for his film Girl 6.

Reply #3 posted 02/14/25 8:58am

Kares

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Why would the Estate want a serious film-maker? They just need someone to produce a film they can use for promotion to protect the market value of the Prince brand. :/

Friends don't let friends clap on 1 and 3.

The Paisley Park Vault spreadsheet: https://goo.gl/zzWHrU

Reply #4 posted 02/14/25 9:07am

nxx

Questlove did a great job with Summer of Soul and (apparently) Sly Lives, plus he's a mega fan. The Estate don't want a real documentary, they just want a celebratory puff piece I guess. Under those circumstances I doubt many serious documentarians would go near it, but Ahmir is enough of a fan that I think they'd trust him to get the tone right.

Still a little heart-broken about the Ezra Edeleman doc though. My guess and hope is that eventually it will see the light of day, at least for the folk that really want to see it and care about it. All that work wasted!

Reply #5 posted 02/14/25 9:41am

Vannormal

Both Spike Lee and Questlove are not a good idea.

It needs to be someone who knows shit about Prince, a young person, with a fresh view.

A starter, ambitious, driven and curious. That's all.

Probably also cheaper and daring.

Worthwhile an Oscar bet.

That's how Prince would've done it for sure.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts." (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)

Reply #6 posted 02/14/25 9:50am

deanm

Maybe Kevin Smith might be interested ..................

Reply #7 posted 02/14/25 11:01am

happyshopper

Vannormal said:

That's how Prince would've done it for sure.

Prince would have hired someone local and cheap, then tried to do it himeself, then got bored and moved on to something else... and it would have sat in the Vault. lol

Reply #8 posted 02/14/25 1:35pm

robertgeorge8 said:

Get Spike Lee. He has done Michael Jackson documentaries that were worthwhile and stayed clear of the scandals (or accusations if you prefer). He has a long association with Prince and I feel could work quite fast.

From the tone of the question, I will agree that Spike Lee doesn't need the risk and potential waste of a couple of his creative years with the Estate.

Spike has a history of Prince love, having grown up in the home of a Jazz musician composer Bill Lee (who composed for his films) , having done feature films (mo betta blues deals with Jazz), advertisements, documentaries he is versatile and has even done sport documentaries (Kobe doin' work).

Spike is your man. He was given Prince songs and at the time unrelesed songs for his film Girl 6.

Spike would laugh at these folks.

Stop it.

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #9 posted 02/14/25 10:16pm

SoulAlive	Spike Lee would be perfect,but I have a feeling that the estate would eventually have issues with him,too.
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Reply #10 posted 02/14/25 10:30pm

luv2tha99s

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deanm said:[quote]

Maybe Kevin Smith might be interested .....

[/quote
Yasssss

Reply #11 posted 02/14/25 10:33pm

funkbabyandthe babysitters	Vannormal said: Both Spike Lee and Questlove are not a good idea. It needs to be someone who knows shit about Prince, a young person, with a fresh view. A starter, ambitious, driven and curious. That's all. Probably also cheaper and daring. Worthwhile an Oscar bet. That's how Prince would've done it for sure. Exactly Prince wouldve gone with an unknown One he could mould how he liked
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Reply #12 posted 02/14/25 10:39pm

bashraka

nxx said:

Questlove did a great job with Summer of Soul and (apparently) Sly Lives, plus he's a mega fan. The Estate don't want a real documentary, they just want a celebratory puff piece I guess. Under those circumstances I doubt many serious documentarians would go near it, but Ahmir is enough of a fan that I think they'd trust him to get the tone right.

Still a little heart-broken about the Ezra Edeleman doc though. My guess and hope is that eventually it will see the light of day, at least for the folk that really want to see it and care about it. All that work wasted!

Questlove directing a documentary would be a disaster. He has already stated that the only years of Prince's career worth talking about is from 1978-1988. Prince's career spanned almost 40 years, an accurate and fair accounting of Prince's career in the '90s and 21st century would be hamstrung by this '80s music groupie. Spike Lee, Taylor Hackford would be far better candidates to take on this project.

3121 #1 THIS YEAR

Reply #13 posted 02/14/25 11:20pm

RODSERLING

Look what that youtuber posted in the comments ( where most people doesn't want that Doc to bé released) :
Here is a thought that occurred to me this morning: Could the Prince Estate have allowed Edelman's film to be released AND followed up by initiating strong, well-funded partnerships with organizations serving causes like helping battered women get back on their feet (per Jill Jones incident) and/or stemming discrimination on the basis of sexual preference or identity (per the Wendy Melvlin story)? I just wonder if Edelman's work presented the Prince Estate with an opportunity at truly leveraging the star's legacy toward good works. Thoughts?

How Can one be so naive ?

To answer the OP : I m sure Spike Lee would do it. In fact, anyone paid enough would do it, be it released or not.
But now that documentary project is vowed to be doomed. No other streaming service would risk to make another deal with the estate.
I Wonder what is the point in a documentary to show / uncover unreleased material ? It s not as if Prince hadn't released liké 40 official albums and thousand of songs

Reply #14 posted 02/15/25 7:14am

Trufunksoulja

The Estate wants to have a puff & fluff doc, so they do not need a seasoned director.

They only need a production company to make this doc, hell even youtubers can create excellent docs without help of seasoned directors.

To prevent any issues/delays/whatever McMillions & The Minion should provide their own strict direction.

Also no serious director wants to be directed by the Estate themselfes.

Reply #15 posted 02/15/25 12:31pm

Revolution81

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Whining that his buddy Edelman spent 5 years working on the doc.
The doc is dead because Edelman failed to do what he was commissioned for, get over it and move on

Bitch this ain't the movies

Reply #16 posted 02/15/25 12:56pm

FJODOR	As long as the pay is good, I'm sure they'll be fine in finding a director.
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Reply #17 posted 02/15/25 1:48pm

lustmealways

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No one gonna sign with the Dallas Mavericks and no one gonna work with The Prince Estate

Reply #18 posted 02/15/25 3:59pm

FJODOR said:

As long as the pay is good, I'm sure they'll be fine in finding a director.

I hate 2 break it 2 u........but the reputation of the Estate is trash.

Hollywood is literally a relationship business.......and word travels fast.

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #19 posted 02/15/25 4:18pm

skywalker

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Trufunksoulja said:

The Estate wants to have a puff & fluff doc, so they do not need a seasoned director.

They only need a production company to make this doc, hell even youtubers can create excellent docs without help of seasoned directors.

To prevent any issues/delays/whatever McMillions & The Minion should provide their own strict direction.

Also no serious director wants to be directed by the Estate themselfes.

Aren't they all puff pieces? Look at Peter Jackson's Beatles doc....that's not really full of "the dirt" that's out there about The Beatles. Look at any of Questlove's docs, Spike Lee's jointz on MJ. Why should Prince doc be a lot different in tone/subject matter than these?

"New Power slide...."

Reply #20 posted 02/15/25 4:25pm

skywalker said:

Trufunksoulja said:

The Estate wants to have a puff & fluff doc, so they do not need a seasoned director.

They only need a production company to make this doc, hell even youtubers can create excellent docs without help of seasoned directors.

To prevent any issues/delays/whatever McMillions & The Minion should provide their own strict direction.

Also no serious director wants to be directed by the Estate themselfes.

Aren't they all puff pieces?

It that what u want?

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #21 posted 02/15/25 5:03pm

masaba1

Gooddoctor23 said:

skywalker said:

Trufunksoulja said:

The Estate wants to have a puff & fluff doc, so they do not need a seasoned director.

They only need a production company to make this doc, hell even youtubers can create excellent docs without help of seasoned directors.

To prevent any issues/delays/whatever McMillions & The Minion should provide their own strict direction.

Also no serious director wants to be directed by the Estate themselfes.

Aren't they all puff pieces?

It that what u want?

Yes. I want a puff piece that dives into the music. 99% doesn't know anything about the world of music this guy created. I'd focus on getting that message out first. If you want to show his ugliness do that later. OJ Made In America was a great doc but how do you think OJ fans felt about it? Haha

Reply #22 posted 02/15/25 5:42pm

masaba1 said:
Gooddoctor23 said:

It that what u want?

Yes. I want a puff piece that dives into the music. 99% doesn't know anything about the world of music this guy created. I'd focus on getting that message out first. If you want to show his ugliness do that later. OJ Made In America was a great doc but how do you think OJ fans felt about it? Haha

Any artist/producer is isn't interested in truth is a waste of time.

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #23 posted 02/15/25 9:02pm

Vannormal

happyshopper said:

Vannormal said:

That's how Prince would've done it for sure.

Prince would have hired someone local and cheap, then tried to do it himeself, then got bored and moved on to something else... and it would have sat in the Vault.

Also possible! biggrin

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts." (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)

Reply #24 posted 02/16/25 12:38am

masaba1

Gooddoctor23 said:

masaba1 said:

Gooddoctor23 said:

It that what u want?

Yes. I want a puff piece that dives into the music. 99% doesn't know anything about the world of music this guy created. I'd focus on getting that message out first. If you want to show his ugliness do that later. OJ Made In America was a great doc but how do you think OJ fans felt about it? Haha

Any artist/producer is isn't interested in truth is a waste of time.

The truth is the funk brother. A tell all is probably going to skip over how important Prince was to funk music. What he was trying to communicate through that music. What actually makes it so good. I want a doc dedicated to that, but that's a pipe dream since most people don't actually get this music. They'd rather see drama, scandal and all the negativity. Sly Stone doc was pretty good, the talk about his drug use isn't nearly as interesting as the talk about the music. Everybody has problems.

Reply #25 posted 02/16/25 2:05am

muleFunk

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I'm sick of this bullshit.

First, the Estate that exists now was not the estate that exists now.So their parameters are died from what existed in 2017.

It's no mystery that Netflix has targeted Black male entertainers with their shockumentaries.Michael Bland and Cat Glover said they refused to answer questions that seemed to smear Prince. I don't understand why that estate even allowed them access to his life.

Second, I love Jill Jones. I think that she has more of a movie about Prince than Mayte. I believe her. However I have problems with the twisting of this story According to people who saw this she said that she smacked Prince in the face and then he punched her.She proceeded to stay with him until 1990.I am all good about that being in it's own feature. Why are you hijacking this? Same with Wendy. Wendy should have cussed him out and went on. Instead every story since his death has been about how she wrote his music.

Reply #26 posted 02/16/25 2:49am

Ndorphinmachin
a

Gooddoctor23 said:

Based on Ava Duvernay and Ezra Edelman both getting the short end of the stick on the Prince documentary, why would any real film maker want 2 work with the Prince Estate?

Actual comments from people who has seen the documentary doesnt line up with the B.S. comments from the Estate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJyzYvAKAuY

[Edited 2/14/25 13:34pm]

They wouldn't. They ditched one filmmaker for another. Allowed him to work on something for however many years, then, slagged him off in the media and refused to release his film.

They're the definition of a problem client.

Spicer and Llondel are egomaniacal enough to believe they can do it themselves. But if... Or when it falls to pieces they'll need someone to blame. So they'll hire a new/unknown to be the "director" and breathe down their necks the entire time.

Expect gross exaggerations, albums that bombed being reclassified as "critically acclaimed", and a solid 30 minutes on how Prince (and Llondel) single handedly redefined the music industry, against all odds and in the face of racism, threats of violence, and media savagery they tore down these multinational behemoth record labels... Without a clenched fist, because as we all know, Prince was a peaceful and serene human being who never raised his voice but simply used song and the power of music and love which are basically the same thing when you think about it. Roll credits big thanks to Spicer and Llondel whom fans are lucky to have.

Reply #27 posted 02/16/25 3:19am

masaba1 said:
Gooddoctor23 said:

Any artist/producer is isn't interested in truth is a waste of time.

The truth is the funk brother. A tell all is probably going to skip over how important Prince was to funk music. What he was trying to communicate through that music. What actually makes it so good. I want a doc dedicated to that, but that's a pipe dream since most people don't actually get this music. They'd rather see drama, scandal and all the negativity. Sly Stone doc was pretty good, the talk about his drug use isn't nearly as interesting as the talk about the music. Everybody has problems.

U dont need a doc 2 release music. Either music is released at some point or it isn't. The music will be released, doc or not. My issue is the fantasy land approach of the doc. What would be the point of it? Why make one at all?

Prince was a trip, it would interesting if they release the 2 sides of this musical genius that was also a an interesting multi-personality human being.

What r people scared of ......the truth?

I dont get it.

[Edited 2/16/25 16:13pm]

Graycap23 was ME!

Reply #28 posted 02/16/25 6:55am

andrewm7new

They wouldn't. End of.

I didn't agree with Ezra's film, but he played the hand he was dealt, and from the account of the few lucky motherfuckers who have seen the book of Prince did a good job.

But... there was a fatal flaw in the premise that will always screw it up, Prince's voice wasn't there (not Ezra's fault)

I barely knew prince, so much so that calling him an acquaintance felt like a hollow boast that I was unwilling to make, but it turns out even those in his inner circle didn't know one heck of a lot better. You can't make a biopic about someone that private/insular/flat out lonely.

Reply #29 posted 02/16/25 3:33pm

NouveauDance

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robertgeorge8 said:

Get Spike Lee. He has done Michael Jackson documentaries that were worthwhile and stayed clear of the scandals (or accusations if you prefer).

People are saying they don't want a whitewash but you're describing just that.