Hours before it was scheduled to screen at the Telluride Film Festival, the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace has been pulled, after a federal court granted the singer an injunction. The film centers on footage shot by late director Sydney Pollack at a 1972 Franklin concert.
A trailer for Amazing Grace was released last month; the film depicts Franklin performing “Mary Don’t You Weep” and other gospel songs, backed by James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir.
As a documentary about Franklin’s famous performance at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church that became the Grammy-winning live album Amazing Grace, the film has long suffered from technical and legal challenges.
Many of those issues had seemed settled before Friday, and the long-awaited premiere of the film was one of the most anticipated releases of the Telluride festival. But after Franklin sought an injunction, a judge in Colorado said the singer should have the right to approve a film that presents her work and likeness.
Click here to read more about the injunction granted to block the premiere of concert film ‘Amazing Grace’
