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Martha Stewart wanted Snoop Dogg to score the documentary Martha
Massachusetts

Martha Stewart wanted Snoop Dogg to score the documentary Martha

Martha Stewart had more than a few criticisms of RJ Cutler’s Netflix documentary Martha.

The famous businesswoman told the New York Times that she “hates” how the film ended with her “looking like a lonely old lady.” And don’t even get Stewart started on the “lousy classic film score,” especially when her pal Snoop Dogg could have played instead.

“I said to (director) RJ, ‘A big part of the movie is that you play rap music,'” Stewart said. “Dr. Dre will probably make it, or (Snoop Dogg) or Fredwreck. I said, “I want this music.” And then he comes up with some lousy classical score that has nothing to do with me.”

RJ Cutler and Martha Stewart attend Netflix's
'Martha'

While Stewart loved “the first half of the documentary,” the second half was inadequate. The last part of the film is about her stay in prison and the resurgence of her career. In Kate Erbland’s IndieWire review, “Martha” presents a “before” and an “after” of Stewart, and the real Stewart didn’t see why there had to be a difference.

“It wasn’t that important,” Stewart said of her time in prison. “The trial and actual incarceration took less than two years of an 83-year-old life. To be honest, I thought of it as a vacation.”

She added: “The process itself was extremely boring. Even the judge fell asleep. RJ didn’t even include that. The judge was asleep on the bench. I wrote it in my diary every day.”

Additionally, according to Stewart, director Cutler used “very little” of her personal archives, which she found “shocking.” Stewart was also dismayed that her grandchildren were not “mentioned” in the film.

“Those last scenes where I look like a lonely old lady walking hunched over in the garden? Boy, I told him (Cutler) to get rid of those,” Stewart said. “And he refused. I hate these final scenes. Hate her.”

But “Martha” has already wowed audiences, for which Stewart is grateful.

“So many girls – young women – have told me that watching it gives them a power they didn’t know they had,” Stewart said. “And that’s what I like best about the documentary. It really shows a strong woman standing up for herself, going through horror and achieving great success.”

Cutler told the NYT that “Martha” is “a movie, not a Wikipedia page.”

“It’s the story of an incredibly interesting human being who is complicated, visionary and brilliant,” Cutler said. “I’m really proud of this film and admire Martha’s courage in trusting me with it. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s difficult for them to recognize aspects of it.”

Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning director Cutler previously directed the definitive Anna Wintour and Vogue documentary The September Issue, as well as Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry and Elton John: Never Too Late”.

Cutler recently told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that Stewart prefers to be in control.

“Martha is Martha. One of the keys to Martha’s success is that she triumphs when she is in control. And one of the narrative threads in this film is that when Martha lost (control), she went to prison,” Cutler said. “She lost control of her company and that was a huge loss, not only for Martha, not only in terms of her company and her finances, but also in terms of what she created that meant the most to her , their thoughts, their ideas. We lost so much when Martha went to prison. She had a great comeback.”

Cutler continued: “So it took a lot of courage for Martha to let me tell her story. And it’s not easy; it becomes part of the dynamic of the film. Martha is a person who is always looking forward and hates therapy. I can’t tell you how many times she said, “I’ve never been to therapy in my life, and now RJ Cutler is sending me to therapy.” But she went there. Boy, did she go there and places she didn’t want to go. She gave me the goods.”

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