Ezra Edelman

In this discussion, Sasha Weiss, Deputy Editor at The New York Times Magazine, and Ezra Edelman, acclaimed filmmaker behind O.J.: Made in America, dive into the intricate journey of creating a documentary on Prince. They reveal the unseen brilliance of the film and the tension between artistic vision and estate legalities that led to its shelving. The conversation also touches on the duality of Prince's persona, the impact of streaming platforms like Netflix on creativity, and the challenges of portraying a complex legacy.

Ezra Edelman, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and David Remnick, longtime New Yorker editor and cultural commentator, debate the fallout from cutting The Washington Post sports section. They discuss sports as community glue, ownership pressures from Bezos, the blurry line between documentaries and propaganda, athlete-controlled storytelling, and the shrinking space for independent journalism.

Sasha Weiss, the deputy editor at the New York Times, joins Oscar-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman to dive into the contentious world of a nine-hour Prince documentary. They discuss the unexpected pushback from Prince's estates over its length, the challenge of authentically portraying the music icon's complex legacy, and the risks involved with artist narratives in today's streaming landscape. The conversation also touches on Netflix's role in this dispute and predictions on viewer engagement in the coming months.