The director, who spent six years crafting a documentary on the international pop star Rihanna, confirms the film is “done” and is just waiting for Rih’s final approval.
Peter Berg — director of Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor, Hancock, and many more — says he’s put the finishing touches on Rihanna’s documentary and is just “waiting for her to approve it.”
“It’s done and sold, and Amazon’s ready,” Berg told The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the director, the only thing holding them back is how much of a “perfectionist” Rihanna is.
“She’s a perfectionist, so we keep adding,” Berg said. “It’s been six and a half years of filming, so, yeah, it’s ready to come out.”
At the rate they’re going, Berg says the waiting period could be prolonged a few more years if Rihanna decides to add more footage.
“We’re just waiting on her to say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be a 10-year project,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Berg is confident Rihanna will greenlight the final project. When asked if he’s concerned the Bajan billionaire will change her mind about releasing the documentary, Berg said, “Not really.”
The documentary was first announced in 2016, Billboard reports. By 2019, it was revealed the rights to the doc had been sold to Amazon for $25 million.
Over 1,200 hours of footage were narrowed down for the documentary as of 2019. Once complete, the film will give fans a never-before-seen inside look into the life and career of Rihanna.
“When Rihanna asked me to make a doc, I thought she was joking. My work tends to be a bit more masculine, at least on the surface,” Berg said. “But this has allowed me to dip in and out of her life while I’m doing other things.”
A lot has changed since Rihanna started the documentary, including welcoming her first child last year. Berg, who first met the singer while working on the film Battleship
, has enjoyed watching the growth of the singer/entrepreneur over the years.“I’ve loved it — watching her in the studio, seeing her turn Fenty into this billion-dollar entity and, now, being a mom,” he said. “It’s such an enriching experience, I don’t really care how long it takes.”