There’s a moment in Courtney Love’s new documentary, Antiheroine, when she declares that “no one gets to tell my story but me.” Apparently, though, that story remains very much a work in progress.
The doc — a candid stroll through her tumultuous life, from marriage to Kurt Cobain and their shared heroin addictions to tabloid infamy, sobriety and the mounting of what she describes as a final album — premiered at Sundance to rave reviews. “An overdue reaffirmation of Love’s place in rock history,” gushed THR’s David Rooney.
Love herself, however, was a surprise no-show at the Eccles. A rep said at the time she “couldn’t make it.”
Within hours of the screening, though, Love surfaced in Los Angeles, checking in to the Chateau Marmont and wiping her Instagram before refilling it with a flurry of posts: a haircut with Sally Hershberger, dinner at Vespertine, a screening of Wuthering Heights at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Notably absent from her feed? Any promotion of the film that had just debuted in Park City.
So, what exactly is going on? A source reveals to Rambling that Love has been telling friends she’s unhappy with the movie and wants to recut it with new material, which is supposedly why she left her home in London and returned to L.A. But her manager — Crush founder Jonathan Daniel — disputes that framing. “The cut that went to Sundance was never intended as final,” he insists. “It’s actually the first edit of the film. We were surprised and flattered that they wanted to screen it, so we approved it being shown even though it was not finished.”
All of which leaves Antiheroine in the unusual position of being both a Sundance hit and, apparently, a rough cut. “Courtney will always be unfiltered and may speak out of turn,” Daniel says, “but I can assure you she’s dedicated to finishing the doc and then promoting it when it’s out.”
***
Also in Rambling Reporter:
Sheriff Chris Nanos doesn’t just run the police department investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance — he’s the brains behind A&E’s reality cop show ‘Desert Law.’ And a thorn in the side of right-wing media.
A look at the one luxury indulgence Jeffrey Epstein was never able to acquire: his own Imax theater.
This story appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
