It's barely been two months since we first got word of a documentary in the works about Taylor Swift and her life over the last few years, and when and how we found out were far from intentional. In November of 2019, Taylor released a plea for help on her Twitter account, revealing that Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun, the owner of her master recordings, were trying to roadblock her historic performance at the AMAs, honoring her as their first female Artist of the Decade, and refusing to license out that decade's worth of music to Netflix for the film.
Don’t know what else to do pic.twitter.com/1uBrXwviTS
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 14, 2019
That was the one scrap of information we had, rightfully overshadowed by the battle for her rights to her own music, until the film was officially announced by Netflix on December 4, where they revealed that it would be a part of their lineup of original films debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020.
TAYLOR SWIFT: MISS AMERICANA
Dir. Lana WilsonA raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice. pic.twitter.com/ElUuMbmKAS
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) December 4, 2019
That was all well and good, but how many of us can get ourselves over to Sundance, and pronto? Tragically, not me! And so we were left wondering when those of us stuck at home would get to watch. Would they drag it on? Would we have to listen to those lucky few that would get to see the film's premiere tease us with the informational equivalent of table scraps? Thank God, no.
Courtesy of Netflix
It was announced this week that Miss Americana would premiere in the comfort of our own homes only eight days later. Phew! We (barely) handled three years between albums, so we can probably handle this.
There's still little word on what specifically will be covered in the doc, but Taylor did confirm that Big Machine, her previous label, wouldn't be mentioned, so we're unlikely to get much insight into her label transition, but the official press release describes the film as "a raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice." Taylor has become infinitely more vocal over the last couple of years on a variety of topics, including politics, sexism and sexual assault, inspiring legions of her fans to do the same, and I can't wait to hear what else she has to say.
Taylor Swift: Miss Americana is available to stream on Netflix starting January 31.
