Sasha Weiss

Well, it may be worth saying, for one thing, that this film was not Ezra's idea originally. Huh. What do you mean? So after the success of O.J., I mean, he's like the toast of the film world. He could do anything. He could do anything. And thinking about his next project, he gets a call from Netflix, and they have a very enticing proposition.

Well, it may be worth saying, for one thing, that this film was not Ezra's idea originally. Huh. What do you mean? So after the success of O.J., I mean, he's like the toast of the film world. He could do anything. He could do anything. And thinking about his next project, he gets a call from Netflix, and they have a very enticing proposition.

So they tell him that they have made a deal with Prince's estate that gave them exclusive access to Prince's vault. Now, the vault, which is how it's known among Princeologists, is his personal archive, which was housed in Paisley Park, which was his kind of... home studio fortress in Minnesota where he lived and recorded and performed. And it had who knows what.

So they tell him that they have made a deal with Prince's estate that gave them exclusive access to Prince's vault. Now, the vault, which is how it's known among Princeologists, is his personal archive, which was housed in Paisley Park, which was his kind of... home studio fortress in Minnesota where he lived and recorded and performed. And it had who knows what.

I mean, it was a treasure trove of archival material.

I mean, it was a treasure trove of archival material.

So tantalizing. It's his vault. And people knew of its existence. And it was the kind of proposition that it would be very hard for a filmmaker like Ezra Edelman to say no to.

So tantalizing. It's his vault. And people knew of its existence. And it was the kind of proposition that it would be very hard for a filmmaker like Ezra Edelman to say no to.

So they find beautiful concert footage, some of which has never been seen before. They find band rehearsals, which at first seem like really exciting, but there's hours and hours of it, just music, just him playing music. They find some unfinished films that Prince made, but it's basically all performance. What they didn't find is almost anything that was candid or spontaneous. Mm-hmm.

So they find beautiful concert footage, some of which has never been seen before. They find band rehearsals, which at first seem like really exciting, but there's hours and hours of it, just music, just him playing music. They find some unfinished films that Prince made, but it's basically all performance. What they didn't find is almost anything that was candid or spontaneous. Mm-hmm.

Prince kind of hanging out with his friends. Prince on the off hours. Prince, you know, talking shit with the band. Prince writing music, composing music. I mean, he was a great songwriter. His process, nothing. And when they would find, like, the beginning of something or the suggestion of something, there was a little bit of footage of Prince horsing around with his girlfriends, for example.

Prince kind of hanging out with his friends. Prince on the off hours. Prince, you know, talking shit with the band. Prince writing music, composing music. I mean, he was a great songwriter. His process, nothing. And when they would find, like, the beginning of something or the suggestion of something, there was a little bit of footage of Prince horsing around with his girlfriends, for example.

But the footage was scratched. It seemed like someone had tampered with the tape. So they came to the conclusion that it might have been deliberate, that anything that was candid, that was still around, had been damaged.

But the footage was scratched. It seemed like someone had tampered with the tape. So they came to the conclusion that it might have been deliberate, that anything that was candid, that was still around, had been damaged.

So he does what he always does, which is to start to interview people intensively. And he wants to talk to all the people who knew Prince well to try to understand what was driving him. What was he thinking about? What were his torments? What were his successes?

So he does what he always does, which is to start to interview people intensively. And he wants to talk to all the people who knew Prince well to try to understand what was driving him. What was he thinking about? What were his torments? What were his successes?

And he seeks out kind of everybody in Prince's world from, you know, bodyguards to family members to dear friends to many, many collaborators over the years.

And he seeks out kind of everybody in Prince's world from, you know, bodyguards to family members to dear friends to many, many collaborators over the years.

And what he and his team begin to find is basically another locked door, another wall.

And what he and his team begin to find is basically another locked door, another wall.