Sasha Weiss

The lawyer for the estate said to Ezra at one point in this process, he fears the film will do generational harm to Prince.

Yes. I think the fear is, in a cross way, this will get Prince canceled.

Yes. I think the fear is, in a cross way, this will get Prince canceled.

He was a jerk. He was a difficult boss. You know, he was mean. Right? That it would demystify this icon. You know, fundamentally, they're concerned about their bottom line.

He was a jerk. He was a difficult boss. You know, he was mean. Right? That it would demystify this icon. You know, fundamentally, they're concerned about their bottom line.

But I think, you know, Ezra sees it the opposite way.

But I think, you know, Ezra sees it the opposite way.

She thinks that a complex, meaningful engagement with Prince just deepens our relationship with him and kind of revives his legacy. And, I mean, I totally agree. Like, Prince is present, but it's not like he's a vital figure in the culture right now. And I bet anything that if this film had come out, there would have been a whole huge...

She thinks that a complex, meaningful engagement with Prince just deepens our relationship with him and kind of revives his legacy. And, I mean, I totally agree. Like, Prince is present, but it's not like he's a vital figure in the culture right now. And I bet anything that if this film had come out, there would have been a whole huge...

discourse around Prince and a complex one and an interesting one. And I think it would have brought him again to the fore of the cultural conversation. And I mean, when Ezra did show a very small group of people an early cut of the film as he was working on it, he saw that kind of reaction.

discourse around Prince and a complex one and an interesting one. And I think it would have brought him again to the fore of the cultural conversation. And I mean, when Ezra did show a very small group of people an early cut of the film as he was working on it, he saw that kind of reaction.

Well, Ezra declines to discuss Netflix, but in my own reporting around the unraveling of the deal, I think Netflix bears a lot of responsibility for what happened. I think that when Ezra started making this film, it was a kind of heyday of prestige documentary, and Netflix was producing...

Well, Ezra declines to discuss Netflix, but in my own reporting around the unraveling of the deal, I think Netflix bears a lot of responsibility for what happened. I think that when Ezra started making this film, it was a kind of heyday of prestige documentary, and Netflix was producing...

high-profile, really rigorous documentaries that were kind of in the mold of some of the things that Ezra does, really intense investigations, journalistically important. They made the film Icarus, which is about the Russian doping scandal during the Olympics that won the Academy Award. And in the years since, documentaries have been transformed and Netflix has been transformed.

high-profile, really rigorous documentaries that were kind of in the mold of some of the things that Ezra does, really intense investigations, journalistically important. They made the film Icarus, which is about the Russian doping scandal during the Olympics that won the Academy Award. And in the years since, documentaries have been transformed and Netflix has been transformed.

You know, the executive who originally hired Ezra has been let go and new leadership was brought in and they've leaned further and further into certain kinds of documentaries that were skirting away from journalism much more toward entertainment, right? True crime. Celebrity documentary where celebrities began to be producing partners.

You know, the executive who originally hired Ezra has been let go and new leadership was brought in and they've leaned further and further into certain kinds of documentaries that were skirting away from journalism much more toward entertainment, right? True crime. Celebrity documentary where celebrities began to be producing partners.

Megan Markle comes to mind. David Beckham. I mean, there are lots of them now, you know? So they're becoming a global empire. They're one of the largest and most important players in the documentary world. They're the arbiters in some sense of what documentary films are, the direction that they're going in. And now they're just generating tons of content quickly, cheaply, kind of formulaically.

Megan Markle comes to mind. David Beckham. I mean, there are lots of them now, you know? So they're becoming a global empire. They're one of the largest and most important players in the documentary world. They're the arbiters in some sense of what documentary films are, the direction that they're going in. And now they're just generating tons of content quickly, cheaply, kind of formulaically.

And the kind of painstaking, long gestating project like Ezra's is not the currency anymore. I mean, they still make some really good things, but they're able to make a lot more things that aren't that good, but that a lot of people watch. And meanwhile, Ezra's film is all tied up in this complex legal battle.