Paul Thomas Anderson just picked up the DGA award for directing One Battle After Another, which usually means you spend the next few weeks smiling politely while people whisper “Oscar frontrunner” at you. Instead, Anderson and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood have found themselves doing something far less fun: telling Brett Ratner’s Melania documentary to stop borrowing from Phantom Thread.
Variety shared their statement, and it’s blunt enough to make your morning coffee taste awkward:
“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary. 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.”
That “piece of music” reportedly includes “Barbara Rose,” one of Greenwood’s Phantom Thread cues. If you remember the film’s razor-sharp fashion world tension, you also remember the music. Drop that into a documentary about Melania Trump and you’re not just setting a mood, you’re borrowing a whole wardrobe.
The mess gets worse when you look at the money swirling around this project. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon reportedly spent $75 million total, split between a $40 million acquisition and $35 million in marketing.
Reports claim President Trump pushed David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance to back Ratner’s Rush Hour 4, with Warner Bros. as the IP owner taking a backseat, all after Ratner made the documentary about Trump’s third wife. If that sounds like Hollywood dealmaking with a political aftertaste, you’re not imagining it.
Ratner even bragged at the premiere that the doc “spent more money on music in this than I did on Rush Hour.” The soundtrack also includes The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” So yeah, music matters here. Which is why Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood noticed that the Phantom Thread score was used in Melania.
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