Martha Stewart had quite a lot of gripes about R.J. Cutler’s Netflix documentary “Martha.”
The enduring businesswoman advised the New York Occasions that she “hates” how the movie ended together with her “looking like a lonely old lady.” And don’t even get Stewart began on the “lousy classical score,” particularly when her pal Snoop Dogg may have simply been a part of the function as an alternative.
“I said to [director] R.J., ‘An essential part of the film is that you play rap music,’” Stewart stated. “Dr. Dre will probably score it, or [Snoop Dogg] or Fredwreck. I said, ‘I want that music.’ And then he gets some lousy classical score in there, which has nothing to do with me.”
Whereas Stewart beloved “the first half of the documentary,” the second half fell quick. The latter portion of the movie consists of her jail stint and profession resurgence. As Kate Erbland’s IndieWire evaluate, “Martha” presents a “before” and an “after” Stewart, and the true Stewart didn’t see why there had to be a distinction.
“It was not that important,” Stewart stated of her time in jail. “The trial and the actual incarceration was less than two years out of an 83-year life. I considered it a vacation, to tell you the truth.”
She added, “The trial itself was extremely boring. Even the judge fell asleep. R.J. didn’t even put that in. The judge was asleep at the bench. I wrote it in my diary every day.”
Plus, in accordance to Stewart, director Cutler “used very little” of her private archives, which she discovered to be “shocking.” Stewart was additionally dismayed that there was no “mention” of her grandchildren within the movie.
“Those last scenes with me looking like a lonely old lady walking hunched over in the garden? Boy, I told him [Cutler] to get rid of those,” Stewart stated. “And he refused. I hate those last scenes. Hate them.”
But “Martha” has already impressed audiences, which Stewart is grateful for.
“So many girls have already told me — young women — that watching it gave them a strength that they didn’t know they had,” Stewart stated. “And that’s the thing I like most about the documentary. It really shows a strong woman standing up for herself and living through horror as well as some huge success.”
Cutler advised the NYT that “Martha” is “a movie, not a Wikipedia page.”
“It’s the story of an incredibly interesting human being who is complicated and visionary and brilliant,” Cutler stated. “I am really proud of this film, and I admire Martha’s courage in entrusting me to make it. I’m not surprised that it’s hard for her to see aspects of it.”
Academy Award-nominated and Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning director Cutler beforehand directed the definitive Anna Wintour and Vogue documentary “The September Issue,” plus “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” and “Elton John: Never Too Late.”
Cutler not too long ago advised IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that Stewart prefers to be in management.
“Martha is Martha. One of the keys to Martha’s success is that when she’s in control, she triumphs. And one of the narrative lines in this movie is that when Martha lost [control], she went to prison,” Cutler stated. “She lost control of her company, and this was a great loss, not just for Martha, and not just in terms of her company and her finances, but of the thing that she created, that meant most to her, her thoughts, her ideas. We lost so much when Martha went to prison because of that. She’s had a great comeback.”
Cutler continued, “So it took a tremendous amount of courage for Martha to let me tell her story. And it’s not easy; it becomes part of the dynamic of the film. Martha is a person who’s always looking forward, who hates therapy. I can’t tell you the number of times she said, ‘I’ve never been to therapy in my life, and now R.J. Cutler is going to put me in therapy.’ But she went there. Boy did she go there, and in places she didn’t want to go. She gave me the goods.”
