Ezra Edelman's extensive work on a Prince documentary was halted when Netflix scrapped it following objections from the late artist's estate. The planned nine-hour film aimed to explore Prince's complicated legacy, including his genius and darker traits, but estate representatives found its content too troubling. This situation reflects a broader trend in the documentary landscape where complex, critical portrayals of subjects are increasingly sidelined in favor of safe, sanitized narratives that align with subjects' estates, marking a troubling shift in creativity within celebrity documentaries.
This dispiriting saga reveals much about the bleak state of the celebrity documentary complex in 2025: they are plentiful on streaming platforms yet increasingly indistinguishable from sponsored content.
Netflix's capitulation lays it all out in the open, reflecting a climate in which dull, sanitised celebrity docs flood the marketplace while distributors balk at complicated and/or unauthorised films providing complex portraits of their subjects.
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