Martha Stewart in a scene from the documentary 'Martha'. Photo: AP
Martha Stewart may have been all smiles at last week’s New York premiere of her Netflix documentary, but she says the second half of the film left a bad taste in her mouth.
The diva of domesticity – who participated in the production – gave a scathing review of the doc in a New York Times interview published on Oct 30, the day of its release.
Stewart said that while she loved “the first half of the documentary,” her reaction to the finished product was “shocking” – especially given that director R.J. Cutler “used very little” of the archival material she granted him “total access” to.
Martha chronicles the rise, fall and comeback of the New Jersey-born business mogul, who describes herself in the doc as the “first female self-made billionaire in American history.”
One particular part of the film Stewart took issue with was the closing segment, which she lobbied for Cutler to change.
“Those last scenes with me looking like a lonely old lady walking hunched over in the garden? Boy, I told him to get rid of those. And he refused,” the 83-year-old told the Times.
“I hate those last scenes. Hate them,” she added. “I had ruptured my Achilles’ tendon. I had to have this hideous operation. And so I was limping a little. But again, he doesn’t even mention why – that I can live through that and still work seven days a week.”
One of Stewart’s other big criticisms was the focus on her being investigated for insider trading, for which she was put on trial and ultimately served five months behind bars after being convicted of felony obstruction of justice.
“It was not that important. The trial and the actual incarceration was less than two years out of an 83-year life,” she said. “The trial itself was extremely boring. Even the judge fell asleep. R.J. didn’t even put that in. The judge was asleep at the bench. I wrote it in my diary every day.”
Stewart also slammed the things that were not included in the film, specifically her international travels and her relationships with her grandchildren.
The film’s score didn’t meet her muster either.
“I said to RJ, ‘An essential part of the film is that you play rap music.’ Dr. Dre will probably score it, or Snoop or Fredwreck,'” she explained. “Then he gets some lousy classical score in there, which has nothing to do with me.”
In response to Stewart’s less-than-positive review, Cutler said he is “really proud of this film.”
“I’m not surprised that it’s hard for her to see aspects of it,” he said, but denied to comment on any of her specific criticisms. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
