As with most things relating to her late husband Kurt Cobain, it was expected that Courtney Love would have some level of input and creative control over the recently announced Cobain HBO documentary Montage of Heck. It was originally reported that Love had been given no creative control into the project, despite the fact that the film was her idea in the first place. However, Morgen has clarified Love's involvement in the film in an exclusive statement to Music Times.
“Courtney Love first came to me with the idea for Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck in 2007," Morgen told Music Times. "She was hoping to make a film that revealed a deeper understanding of Kurt than had been depicted in the media. While several parties control rights to Kurt’s music, Courtney and her daughter, are the sole rights holders to Kurt’s belongings, which are used quite readily throughout the film. In granting me access to his possessions, Courtney gave me permission to use the items in any manner I deemed appropriate for the film. She never asked for any editorial involvement. In today’s age, and particularly when making a film on a public figure, it is virtually unheard of to grant this kind of access to a filmmaker. And for that I will always be grateful.
"Any suggestion that Courtney was denied editorial involvement couldn’t be further from the truth. It was her idea to let me have control. This film would not exist today without the support of Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain and Wendy O’Connor. The trust that has been invested in me by Courtney, Frances, and Kurt’s immediate family has been crucial in allowing me to paint a portrait of Kurt that is both honest, unflinching, empathetic, and effecting. I look forward to sharing this film with audiences around the world in 2015.”
Though he has not been working with Love directly on the project, Morgan has instead been working with Love and Cobain's daughter Frances Bean Cobain, who is serving as executive producer. Frances Bean was just 20 months old when her famous father committed suicide in April 1994, and she believes that giving her mother any sort of control over the project would be inappropriate, as she is such an integral part to the story of Cobain's life.
"At a certain point, I started working more closely with [Frances Bean]," Morgan said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "We [all] agreed that because Courtney was a subject in the film, it would be best if she wasn't given editorial control."
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will feature previously unheard songs by Cobain, provided by Frances Bean and Love.
But Morgen speculates that Love will not be in attendence at the film's premiere.
"She hasn't seen the movie," he admitted to THR. "I'm not sure she's intending to."
You can check out the music video for Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" here:
Do you think it is fair that Courtney Love has no creative control over the Kurt Cobain documentary? Let us know down in the comments section.
