And that is not the way that the Fourth Estate was set up.
I think the exercise is very hard.
I think the danger and the problem Im finding is that whats the compromise?
PrinceMichael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
What happens that these streamers or whoever the distributors are, they get a film about whomever.
And Im like, its not.
I think thats the bigger issue.
This film about Prince, to me, its a full meal.
And its not something you could just like tear through.
Its tough at times, he added.
AfterNetflixaxed the project, Edelman compared his project to a scene from anIndiana Jonesmovie.
He said whatever the Prince estate cooks up now is not a documentary.
Its going to be a hagiographic propaganda love letter to Prince the artist.
Are you going to learn anything about Prince?
Are you going to learn anything dark about Prince?
Are you going to learn anything complicating about Prince?
I doubt it, he added.
He called the whole process the most painful and difficult thing.
Edelman said that he wanted to tell the truth about Prince, the mysterious figure.
By nature of him being 52, he looks like the underdog.
He is this pixie fairy, purple genius.
But the guy never stopped working and really worked in service of the fans.
So, he lived as a mystery and he died as a mystery.
But the guy, he was a shapeshifter and so he morphed, he changed lives.
This isnt, by the way, like R. Kelly.
And like, its like we already know what hes guilty of.
But people sort of were defensive in terms of like, as if he were that.
The relationship to how much people love Prince.
And its like, so who wants this?
But the whole point of it is the journey.
And the whole point of it was actually reflecting a journey that he went through, he added.
People had issues with how he treated people.
He was emotionally abusive.
He was physically abusive in very specific, Ill say for how it was reported in one instance.
The point is like this all weighed on him.
And so this sort of dramatic life event, he thought partially he was responsible.
I mean, whatever.
Check the film for factual inaccuracies.
They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues, not factual issues.
This is the thing I just find galling.
Theyre afraid of his humanity.
The lawyer who runs this estate essentially said he believed that this would do generational harm to Prince.
They would be turned off.
