Prince estate stopped song being used in Melania
Prince’s estate allegedly blocked his music from appearing in Melania because theydidn't think the late star would want his work "associated with Donald Trump'.
Prince’s estate allegedly blocked his music from appearing in Melania.
Producer Marc Beckman, who was a senior advisor to Melania Trump, has claimed he was originally told he could use one of the late Little Red Corvette hitmaker's songs in director Brett Ratner's documentary - which follows the First Lady in the weeks leading up to the second inauguration of her husband, US President Donald Trump - but then the estate stepped in to deny the rights to the track.
Speaking to Variety, Marc said: “Literally we were ready to go, and this lawyer that manages the estate was like, ‘Prince would never want his song associated with Donald Trump.’ And we’re like, ‘But it’s not a Donald Trump film! He comes into the movie once in a while, but this is all about Melania. It’s not political.’ And that guy blocked it. It’s so ridiculous."
The producer also claimed Guns N' Roses and Grace Jones also refused to allow their music to be used because of the controversial president.
He said: "The guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically. There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys — I don’t want to name, it’s not fair —said, 'You got it. Go.' And the other one was basically like, 'There’s just no way.'
"We needed everybody’s approval to get it in the film. So Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us; we all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses.
"And then there was a song that we wanted to use from Grace Jones; obviously, also a tremendous amount of respect for her. She apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle, notwithstanding the fact that the film is not a political film. So that was disappointing, too. It’s disappointing when people put politics so far ahead, and that happened a little bit with the film, for sure."
However, some surprising artists were happy to agree.
March said: “Some of the artists you would never think would say yes jumped on it right away. I was like, ‘Wow, I love this person even more now.' "
When quizzed, Marc refused to name the musicians because the artists in question are "afraid" of upsetting their fanbase.
Asked about the acts, he said: "I don’t want to [name them], because I promise those people that I wouldn’t hurt them. You could put this on the record.
"Some of them are afraid that because their fan base is so liberal, progressive, that they would lose their fans. And there’s no reason for me to hurt anyone. I respect their work and that they’re also trying to earn money and take care of their families, so I’d prefer to leave it like this."
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood previously shared his unhappiness that a segment of his Phantom Thread score had been used in Melania.
In a joint statement with Phantom Thread filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, he said: “It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary.
"While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use, which is a breach of his composer agree."
Marc was saddened by the statement because he is a big Radiohead fan.
He said: “It’s funny — Radiohead is one of my all-time favourite bands. For them to have come out publicly and distanced themselves, I think that’s just part of the unfortunate time we’re living in.”
“We went out and created a nice film that doesn’t get into any kind of political policy or anything like that. The music at that moment is so perfect, honestly, I was so thrilled to be able to use it.
“We spent top dollars for all that music, and we’re thrilled to have that song included in the film."
