Kurt Cobain Documentary Promises ‘Intimate Portrait’ Of Music Legend
Kurt Cobain’s fully authorized documentary promises a “intimate portrait” of the music legend. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is set to debut on HBO in 2015. The highly anticipated film was directed by Brett Morgen and produced by David Byrnes, Larry Mestel, and Kurt’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
As reported by Rolling Stone, the film includes previously unheard music, candid home movies, and unpublished works of art. Morgen said he was given full access to a large portion of Kurt Cobain’s personal archives. Among the musician’s belongings, Morgan found a veritable goldmine.
“Once I stepped into Kurt’s 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.”
A native of Hoquiam, Washington, Kurt Donald Cobain received his first guitar on his fourteenth birthday. Six years later, he and Krist Novoselic formed the band Nirvana.
Although their first album, which debuted in 1989, was a local success, Nirvana did not get their big break until 1991.
In the early 1990s, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic teamed up with Dave Grohl to record the album Nevermind. The album’s unique style went on to define a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge.
Between 1991 and 1994, Nirvana became one of the best-selling bands of all time. They also received numerous awards, including one Grammy Award, and five MTV Video Music Awards.
Although the band became an instant success, Kurt Cobain “never was completely comfortable” being the center of attention. In addition to suffering with mental illness, the music legend developed a debilitating addiction to drugs.
On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.” As reported by Billboard, Cobain’s life and death have been the topic of numerous documentaries. However, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck will be “the first documentary to be made with the cooperation of Cobain’s family.”
The authorized Kurt Cobain documentary was produced in cooperation with HBO Documentary Films and Universal Pictures International Entertainment Content Group. In addition to its debut on HBO, the film will also be released internationally.
The documentary got its unusual name from a mix-tape titled Montage of Heck, which Kurt Cobain created in 1988. Although Morgen has not revealed his full plan for the documentary, he previously stated that it will contain “a mix of animation and live action.”
[Image via Biography]
