Director Peter Berg has given fans an update on his highly-anticipated Rihanna documentary.
Videos by American Songwriter
News of the film first appeared back in 2015. Back then, Berg said the project would be an “unfiltered look into Rihanna’s life and how she’s ascended to become a global icon.”
In 2018, Berg resurfaced with news of the film and revealed it could be arriving in cinemas in “about a month and a half,” but, that never came to fruition.
During a new interview published on Thursday (Jan. 5), Berg was asked where the project – set to be released by Amazon – stands in 2023.
“Waiting for [Rihanna] to approve it,” Berg said. “It’s done and sold, and Amazon’s ready. She’s a perfectionist, so we keep adding. It’s been six and a half years of filming, so, yeah, it’s ready to come out. We’re just waiting on her to say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be a 10-year project.”
He went on to say that he’s “not really” concerned that the pop icon won’t eventually approve the project.
“When Rihanna asked me to make a doc, I thought she was joking,” Berg said. “My work tends to be a bit more masculine, at least on the surface. But this has allowed me to dip in and out of her life while I’m doing other things.”
He continued, “I’ve loved it – watching her in the studio, seeing her turn Fenty [Beauty, cosmetics brand] into this billion-dollar entity and, now, being a mom. It’s such an enriching experience, I don’t really care how long it takes.”
In other Rihanna news, the singer is finally starting to share new music after a long hiatus. She recently released two songs for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack: “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again.”
Later this year, Rihanna will perform at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show on February 12. “It was now or never for me,” said Rihanna of the forthcoming performance. “It was a challenge that I welcomed. It was a stage bigger than anything I’ve ever done.”
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
