Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson request removal of Phantom Thread music from Melania Trump documentary
Jonny Greenwood, guitarist of Radiohead and an acclaimed film composer, has formally requested that music he composed for the 2017 film Phantom Thread be removed from a controversial documentary about Melania Trump produced for Amazon. Greenwood, along with Phantom Thread director Paul Thomas Anderson, stated that the use of the music in the documentary breached the terms of his agreement as a composer. According to a joint statement obtained by Variety, a piece from the Phantom Thread score was reused without Greenwood being consulted, which his legal representatives argue violates his contract, even though he does not personally own the copyright to the score.
The distributor of Phantom Thread, Universal Pictures, allegedly approved the third-party use without seeking Greenwood’s consent. As a result, Greenwood and Anderson asked that the music be withdrawn from the documentary. Amazon MGM Studios and Universal were contacted by The Independent for comment, but no public response was reported at the time.
The documentary, directed by Brett Ratner, follows Melania Trump during the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. Despite heavy criticism from reviewers, the film exceeded box office expectations, earning approximately $13.35 million domestically after two weekends, partly driven by organized groups of Republican women attending screenings. However, it remains unlikely to recoup its enormous costs. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the documentary and spent an additional $35 million on marketing, making it one of the most expensive documentaries ever produced.
The project also marked Ratner’s return to filmmaking after stepping away from Hollywood amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017, which he denied and for which he was not criminally charged. Critics were largely dismissive of the film’s artistic merit, with The Independent’s Nick Hilton describing it as closer to staged reality television than a genuine documentary.
In recent years, Greenwood has increasingly focused on film scoring, contributing music to more than a dozen films, including There Will Be Blood and Licorice Pizza. Phantom Thread received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score, underscoring the significance of the music now at the center of the dispute.