Oscar Nominees Demand Removal of Music From ‘Melania’ Documentary
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood are seeking the removal of music from their acclaimed film Phantom Thread after it was used without consultation in the controversial documentary Melania, according to a statement obtained by Variety.
The dispute centers on a lengthy excerpt of Greenwood’s composition Barbara Rose, which appears in Melania, a film billed as an inside look at the life of former first lady Melania Trump. Phantom Thread, directed by Anderson and scored by Greenwood, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Original Score.
In a joint statement, Anderson and Greenwood said the music’s inclusion constitutes a breach of agreement.
“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary,” the statement said. “While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use, which is a breach of his composer agreement. As a result, Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”
The documentary was directed by Brett Ratner, marking his return to filmmaking after years away from Hollywood following multiple sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2017. Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour franchise, later relocated to Israel and has recently reappeared in public discourse after being mentioned in releases connected to the Epstein files.
The film’s release has been accompanied by intense scrutiny, in part due to its financing. Amazon MGM Studios reportedly paid $40 million for the streaming rights and an additional $35 million to market the film theatrically — an unusually large investment for a nonfiction project. The scale of the deal has fueled speculation that the purchase was politically motivated.
Critically, Melania has been widely panned, though it has exceeded box office expectations. The documentary earned $13.3 million domestically, with reports suggesting that Republican women made up a significant portion of the audience.
In its review, Euronews Culture dismissed the film as a “staged puff piece” and “a shallow, 104-minute-long vanity project,” arguing that while it has been accused of propaganda, it ultimately lacks the ideological force associated with historically notorious films.
Anderson and Greenwood have collaborated for nearly two decades, with Greenwood composing scores for several of the director’s films, including There Will Be Blood, The Master, Licorice Pizza, and last year’s One Battle After Another.
One Battle After Another is widely considered a frontrunner at the upcoming Academy Awards, where it is nominated for 13 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score — further underscoring the high-profile nature of the dispute over Greenwood’s music.
Neither Amazon MGM Studios nor representatives for the Melania documentary have publicly responded to Anderson and Greenwood’s request.
