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Director of HBO’s Kurt Cobain Doc Clarifies Courtney Love’s Role in the Project

courtney love, hbo, kurt cobain

A day after reports claimed that Courtney Love had been effectively cut out of HBO’s upcoming documentary about Kurt Cobain — which is set to air in 2015 — the project’s director has clarified the Hole singer’s editorial role.

“Courtney Love first came to me with the idea for Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck in 2007,” director Brett Morgen said in a statement. “In granting me access to his possessions, Courtney gave me permission to use the items in any manner I deemed appropriate for the film. She never asked for any editorial involvement.”

It’s been a busy week for clarifications about Courtney Love; just yesterday, Dave Grohl dropped by Howard Stern’s show to refute the singer’s claims that the two of them went to a strip club together. Read Morgen’s entire statement below and look for the project sometime in 2015.

Courtney Love first came to me with the idea for Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck in 2007. She was hoping to make a film that revealed a deeper understanding of Kurt than had been depicted in the media. While several parties control rights to Kurt’s music, Courtney and her daughter, are the sole rights holders to Kurt’s belongings, which are used quite readily throughout the film. In granting me access to his possessions, Courtney gave me permission to use the items in any manner I deemed appropriate for the film. She never asked for any editorial involvement. In today’s age, and particularly when making a film on a public figure, it is virtually unheard of to grant this kind of access to a filmmaker. And for that I will always be grateful.

Any suggestion that Courtney was denied editorial involvement couldn’t be further from the truth. It was her idea to let me have control. This film would not exist today without the support of Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain and Wendy O’Connor.

The trust that has been invested in me by Courtney, Frances, and Kurt’s immediate family has been crucial in allowing me to paint a portrait of Kurt that is both honest, unflinching, empathetic, and effecting. I look forward to sharing this film with audiences around the world in 2015.