Ezra Edelman Slams Netflix for Scrapping His 9-Hour Prince Documentary: “It’s a Joke”

Filmmaker Ezra Edelman is speaking out after Netflix canceled his nine-hour documentary about Prince. The Oscar-winning director spent years working on the project, only to see it scrapped due to objections from Prince’s estate.

“I’m not Prince, but I worked really hard making something, and now my art’s being stifled and thrown away,” Edelman said on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.

Edelman compared the situation to the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones’ prized artifact is locked away and forgotten.

“The image I’ve had in my head is the last shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark: of just a huge warehouse somewhere in Netflix, a crate just, like, put away,” he said.

The director, who won an Oscar for O.J.: Made in America, wanted to showcase Prince’s genius but also his humanity. His documentary featured interviews with over 70 people and explored both the highs and lows of the singer’s life. New York Times Magazine Deputy Editor Sasha Weiss, one of the few who saw the film, described it as revealing “a dark, vindictive, and sad” side of Prince, along with the magic of his music.

When Edelman joined the project, he was told Netflix and the estate would have final say on the content, with the estate only fact-checking for accuracy. However, that’s not how it played out.

“It’s a joke. The estate had — here’s the one thing they were allowed to do: Check the film for factual inaccuracies. Guess what? They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues — not factual issues,” Edelman said. “You think I have any interest in putting out a film that is factually inaccurate?“

Edelman claims the estate’s lawyer argued that the documentary could “do generational harm to Prince,” fearing that young fans would be turned off by the portrayal of his personal struggles.

Last month, Netflix and Prince’s estate released a joint statement explaining their decision:

“The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince’s archive. As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.”

Edelman sees the situation as ironic, given that Prince was famous for fighting for artistic freedom.

“This is reflective of Prince himself, who was notoriously one of the most famous control freaks in the history of artists,” Edelman said. “The irony being that Prince was somebody who fought for artistic freedom, who didn’t want to be held down by Warner Bros., who he believed was stifling his output.“

The director still believes his documentary would have been embraced by fans.

“I’m like, ‘This is a gift — a nine-hour treatment about an artist that was, by the way, f—ing brilliant.’ Everything about who you believe he is is in this movie. You get to bathe in his genius. And yet you also have to confront his humanity.”

Edelman is frustrated that all his work may never be seen. He is waiting to see if Netflix or the estate will reconsider their decision.

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