Ava DuVernay to Direct Prince Documentary for Netflix
Multipart production will be made in cooperation with late singer’s estate, Variety reports
Ross A. Lincoln | October 29, 2018 @ 11:22 PM
Last Updated: October 30, 2018 @ 7:36 AM
Getty Images
Ava DuVernay is working on a multi-part documentary about Prince for Netflix.
The documentary series will cover late pop star’s entire life, and is being made with the full cooperation of his estate, which will provide archival footage and photos, and interviews, an individual with knowledge of the project confirmed to TheWrap.
The archives will also include recordings and other unreleased Prince material. DuVernay and her team have also visited Prince’s Paisley Park home and studios in recent months.
“Prince was a genius and a joy and a jolt to the senses,” DuVernay said in a statement on Twitter Monday. “He was like no other. He shattered every preconceived notion, smashed every boundary, shared everything in his heart through his music. The only way I know how to make this film is with love. And with great care. I’m honored to do so and grateful.”
“Prince was a genius, a joy and a jolt to the senses. He was like no other. He shattered preconceived notions, smashed boundaries, and shared his heart through his music. The only way I know how to make this film is with love and great care. I’m honored to do so and grateful.” https://t.co/fNsISCwtzg
Representatives for DuVernay and Prince’s estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Variety first reported that DuVernay is working on the documentary project.
Prince and Michael Jackson: Rivals and Revolutionaries (Photos)
If you were alive in the 1980s, there was only one question: Prince or Michael Jackson?
It took some of us years to realize it, but there was only one answer: Both.
Prince and Michael Jackson were both Midwesterners born in 1958: Prince in Minneapolis, on June 7, and Michael Jackson in Gary, Indiana, on August 29. If you can't tell from this picture, both blew up in the 1970s.
Both Prince and Michael Jackson were crossover artists who were among the only African-Americans whose videos were played in the early days of MTV.
In 1985, when Prince and Michael Jackson dominated the charts, Prince was criticized for not performing on "We Are the World," a song co-written by Jackson to help starving African children. Prince was reportedly too shy to perform with his fellow artists. Prince & the Revolution did record a gorgeous song for the "We Are the World" album -- "4 the Tears in Your Eyes."
Their race and sexuality were constantly questioned at the peak of their popularity. Both played with the clueless speculation with androgynous wardrobe choices, and their lyrics.
"Am I black or white/am I straight or gay?" Prince sang on "Controversy."
"Who's black/who's white," Jackson sang on "Black or White."
Both were Jehovah's Witnesses. Jackson reportedly proselytized door-to-door near his family's home in Encino, Calif. Prince often sang about God and Jesus, including in "I Would Die 4 U." He backed away from some of his dirtier lyrics as he embraced his religion more strongly.
Michael Jackson played with the concept of revolution, artistically, by dressing like the leader of a military coup. Prince led the Revolution.
Though Prince portrayed himself as dirty-minded, he noted the irony of Michael Jackson being embroiled in scandal in 2004.
"What are my contemporaries doing now?" he said in an Associated Press interview, while Jackson was on trial accused of child molestation. "I'm not entangled in a bunch of lawsuits and a web that I can't get out of. I can hold my head up ... a happily married man who has his head in order. There isn't a bunch of scandal in my life."
"I ain't never had my nose done!" Prince announced at a March 2004 concert, while Jackson was on trial. Some in the crowd took it as a shot at Jackson, who was later found not guilty of the criminal accusations.
Jackson, the King of Pop, named one of his children Prince, which only fueled speculation about his feelings toward the elder Prince.
Sadly, they both died much too young -- Jackson on June 25, 2010, and Prince on April 21, 2016. Rest in peace.
1 of 11
Prince would have turned 60 today. Let’s look back on his strange relationship with Michael Jackson
If you were alive in the 1980s, there was only one question: Prince or Michael Jackson?
It took some of us years to realize it, but there was only one answer: Both.
