Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain don’t have the typical mother/daughter relationship. It’s been a bumpy ride since 1994, when rock god Kurt Cobain killed himself. Films about Cobain’s life have been produced since his death, but now HBO will air the first authorized documentary, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, in January 2015. While The Hollywood Reporter claims “Courtney Love was muscled out of” the documentary, Love’s separation from the film is probably the most generous gift she’s ever given to her daughter. Frances Bean Cobain is executive producer of the film.
Love was in fact the one to approach director Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) about making a Cobain documentary in 2007. And while Morgen was given incredible access to family archives, Love hasn’t been involved in the creative process. She has given no editorial control. While Morgen says he’s not sure if Love will see the film, just yesterday Love showed her support for the endeavor by retweeting Frances Bean’s tweet: “I’m really excited for you guys to see Montage of Heck. @brettmorgen created an intense yet wonderful examination of Kurt’s life & art.”
