Sunday, October 6, 2024

What is Oprah Hiding? Kills Documentary She Agreed to After Cancelling Two Autobiographies

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Oprah Winfrey is great at interviewing other people. But she doesn’t want us to know much about herself.

Oprah has just cancelled an Apple TV Plus documentary from award winner Kevin Macdonald. She reportedly gave Apple the money they paid her (enough to buy a warehouse of Macs). Macdonald’s work will never be seen now.

This isn’t the first time Oprah has cancelled projects she commissioned or approved about herself.

In 1993, she pulled back an autobiography that was ready to be published. That caused quite a stir because, in publishing no one does that. Oprah had been paid a stunning $3 million advance. But she gave it back just three months before pub date.

In 2015 I wrote that she had a book she planned for 2017 called “The Life You Want.” Again, the book never materialized.

Macdonald is a respected filmmaker, so the film would have been of merit. But according to sources, Oprah didn’t like the finished product, and she had editorial control.

Martha Stewart feels the same way about her doc, from RJ Cutler, which just showed at the Telluride Film Festival and will be in the Hamptons Film Festival. But ultimately Martha knew most of her life is already in the public domain. The film will come and go.

As for Oprah, we know a lot about her childhood, family life, and years in broadcasting before her show took off in 1986. We know a lot about weight loss. But her personal life with Steadman Graham and Gayle King is less transparent. She’s obviously not ready for public consumption of those details.

I’m curious about Oprah’s observations about her impact on American political life. Her involvement with promoting the Obamas would be fascinating. She’s also had wealthy Republican friends. It’s unknown if Macdonald was able to get into any of that.

Photo courtesy of Brad Balfour

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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