Nine-Hour-Long Prince Doc From Ezra Edelman And Netflix Stalled By Pop Icon’s Estates: Report

The streaming forecast may not be calling for Purple Rain any time soon. A new report from Puck‘s Matthew Belloni reveals that a “multipart” documentary about Prince from Netflix and director Ezra Edelman — which has reportedly been in the works “for more than four years” — is stuck in limbo, as the executors of Prince’s estate allegedly “aren’t fans” of the project.

As noted by Puck, Edelman, who reportedly “finished his cut of the film a while back,” earned an Oscar for his five-part docuseries O.J.: Made in America in 2017.

Prince passed away on April 21, 2016 from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Belloni’s report suggests that the Netflix doc doesn’t shy away from any controversial areas of the late musician’s life. Citing a source that “insists it’s not revelations of drug use or sexual stuff” that is preventing executor approval, Belloni writes that “the estate argues there are things in the film that are inaccurate,” but that “Netflix sources believe this is mostly a control issue, and reflects the fact that the current executors of the estate are different from those who greenlit the project in the first place.”

The streaming giant’s deal with Prince’s estate for Edelman’s project (which Puck reports was originally helmed by Ava DuVernay) was made in 2018, and “calls for a six-hour series.” However, Puck writes that the doc is nine hours long, and claims that the estate “has been using that violation of the agreement to essentially hold the film hostage.”

Two sources mentioned in the report claimed that the streamer is “confident a compromise can still be worked out,” though a deal has yet to be reached.

Per the report, two years ago, the pop icon’s estate was divided into two: Prince Legacy, comprised of his family and friends, and Prince OAT Holdings, which Puck described as “an arm of the rights management company Primary Wave Music.” As noted by the outlet, the two sides have to “agree on most big decisions” concerning Prince’s “intellectual property,” and in this case, must do so in order for the documentary to see the light of day.

So, until we can party like it’s 199-9 hours of footage, check out Decider’s guide on where to stream Prince’s movies.