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Netflix’s Scramble to Save the Secret Prince Movie

The Oscar winner Ezra Edelman’s exhaustive 9-hour documentary is stranded over a surprising objection from the late music icon’s dueling estates: It’s too long.

prince
Photo: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images for Lotusflow3r.com
Matthew Belloni
July 16, 2024

Over lunch with a documentary producer last month, I kinda unloaded on the music and sports nonfiction genre. In many ways, it’s never been better for fans like me—given the relatively low cost and breakout potential of these projects, there’s a constant and seemingly endless stream of content. At the same time, even my lunch companion agreed, most of these participation docs totally suck.