Aretha Franklin Blasts 'Amazing Grace' Screening at Toronto
Aretha Franklin wants some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
The Queen of Soul filed an amended complaint one day after a private screening for potential buyers at Toronto International Film Festival of "Amazing Grace," a documentary featuring a 1972 performance of the singer, of which she claims was done without her "permission or knowledge" and violated previous contractual agreements that required her consent, Deadline reports
The private screening, she says, was "contrary" to a court-ordered injunction.
Previously, the Grammy winner was granted a last-minute judgment that blocked producer Alan Elliott's film's debut at the Telluride Film Festival, and it was subsequently pulled from Toronto International Film Festival hours before its premiere.
Franklin is seeking a permanent injunction against showing of the film under copyright infringement, right of publicity, and anti-bootlegging claims.
“On September 8, 2015, Mr. Elliott’s counsel agreed via e-mail that Mr. Elliott would not show the Film publicly,” the amended complaint filed Sunday began. “Yet, on Saturday, September 12, 2015, Ms. Franklin’s counsel was informed via press inquiries that Mr. Elliott on that day was holding a screening of the film in Toronto for commercial purposes for film executives and others. The screening was allegedly attended by film industry executives for the particular purpose of obtaining a distribution agreement for the film. This screening was done without Ms. Franklin’s permission or knowledge, and was contrary to Mr. Elliott’s counsel’s specific representations.”