Kurt Cobain Doc Director Clarifies Courtney Loves Involvement

An earlier version of this story cited an erroneous report concerning Courtney Loves involvement in the planned Kurt Cobain documentary. Rolling Stonehas reflected new information in the story below.

A report in the Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday claiming that Courtney Lovehad been denied editorial control on the upcoming Kurt Cobain documentaryMontage of Heckhas been refuted by the films director Brett Morgen.

She never asked for any editorial involvement, Morgen tells Rolling Stone. In todays 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 couldnt be further from the truth. It was her idea to let me have control.

Love approached Morgen with the original documentary idea in 2007 after being impressed by his work on the 2002 Robert Evans biopicThe Kid Stays in the Picture. She subsequently gave the director access to her enormous personal archives.

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She was hoping to make a film that revealed a deeper understanding of Kurt than had been depicted in the media, Morgen says. While several parties control rights to Kurts music, Courtney and her daughter are the sole rights holders to Kurts 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. Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Love and Cobain, isan executive producer on the project.

The film is expected to premiere in January at the Sundance festival and will air on HBO in 2015, with an international release planned for later in the year.

In a press release, Montage of Heckis described as a raw and visceral journey through Cobains life that provides no-holds-barred access to Kurt Cobains archives, home to his never-before-seen home movies, recordings, artwork, photography, journals, demos, personal archives, family archives and songbooks. The documentary will include dozens of Nirvana tracks and live performances, along with previously unheard Cobain original songs.

I started work on this project eight years ago, Morgen saidin a statement. Like most people, when I started, I figured there would be limited amounts of fresh material to unearth. However, once I stepped into Kurts archive, I discovered over 200 hours of unreleased music and audio, a vast array of art projects (oil paintings, sculptures), countless hours of never-before-seen home movies, and over 4,000 pages of writings that together help paint an intimate portrait of an artist who rarely revealed himself to the media.

This film would not exist today without the support of Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain and [Cobains mother] Wendy OConnor, Morgen tells Rolling Stone. The trust that has been invested in me by Courtney, Frances, and Kurts 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.