Aretha Franklin movie is pulled
Screening in Toronto is canceled amid legal battle. Los Angeles screening still a go.
The saga of the Aretha Franklin concert movie “Amazing Grace” has taken another turn, with producer Alan Elliott pulling the movie from the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its screening Thursday.
But Elliott hopes a screening will take place next week in Los Angeles even if a deal can’t be reached with the soul singer.
Elliott notified Toronto on Tuesday that the movie wouldn’t be shown at the festival after a legal battle with Franklin. The festival announced the move shortly after. In an interview, festival programming chief Thom Powers called the outcome “a pity,” noting that “Aretha has gone on record saying she loves the film.”
“Amazing Grace” offers an unfiltered look a 1972 gospel concert Franklin gave at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church. Footage was shot by the late Sydney Pollack for Warner Bros. and then fashioned in recent years into the finished film independently by Elliott, a former music-business veteran who teaches at UCLA.
The concert documentary was set to open the Telluride Film Festival last Thursday as well as Toronto this Thursday.
But Telluride lawyer Linda Lichter was notified Friday the festival was being sued as Franklin sought a temporary restraining order. Several hours later, District Judge John Kane granted the order, in what legal experts say was an unusual step for a film that was set to show at a festival.
At issue is whether Franklin has veto power over use of the footage. In the filing, the singer said she had that right, part of a 2011 settlement with Elliott. Franklin is seeking a deal before the film is shown, including a $1-million up-front free as well as a revenueshare arrangement, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to talk about them publicly.
Elliott has said a 1972 personal-services contract between Franklin and Warner Bros. unearthed by the studio in 2013 makes that settlement moot and renders unnecessary any approval from Franklin on the film.
Reached by phone, Elliott said, “I can’t wait to show the movie to the world.”
A Franklin spokeswoman did not reply to a request for comment. Franklin was quoted in the Detroit Free Press several weeks ago as saying she’d seen and admired the movie. “It isn’t that I’m not happy about the film, because I love the film itself,” she said. “It’s just that — well, legally I really should just not talk about it, because there are problems.”
The L.A. screening will be for the Southern California Community Choir, which is featured in the movie, but media are expected to be invited. It is unknown if Franklin will take action against what would be a more private event than Telluride.