Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and director Paul Thomas Anderson have asked that a portion of the score from Phantom Thread be removed from Brett Ratner’s new documentary about Melania Trump.
While Melania has its own score, composed by Tony Neiman, it also features several prominent needle drops, including a snippet of Greenwood’s Oscar-nominated Phantom Thread score. But in a new statement, Greenwood and Anderson suggested they were not made aware of the music’s use in the documentary until after it was released.
“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,” a rep said. “As a result Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”
Reps for Amazon MGM, which produced Melania, as well as Universal Pictures, did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.
Along with the Phantom Thread score, Melania features songs by Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, James Brown, and more. One particularly notable needle drop is the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” which plays during the doc’s opening sequence. While the Stones have repeatedly ordered President Donald Trump not to use their music at his rallies, the band does not own any of their recordings before 1971, including 1969’s “Gimme Shelter.”
Melania, which was released at the end of January, cost a reported $75 million to make and market. The film’s remarkably high price tag has raised questions over whether Amazon backed the project to curry favor with the Trump administration, especially because the tech giant, and its founder Jeff Bezos, have additional business with the federal government. A spokesperson for Amazon MGM previously denied any ulterior motives, saying the company “licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.” (Melania has made about $13 million since its release two weeks ago.)
Melania also marks the first major project from Ratner in over 10 years, and since the director was accused of sexual assault by multiple women. (He has denied the allegations.) As Rolling Stone previously reported, Ratner oversaw a “highly disorganized, very chaotic” production, as one person put it. Another member of the production team added, “I feel a little bit uncomfortable with the propaganda element of this. But Brett Ratner was the worst part of working on this project.”
