Amazon Studios and Entertainment One (eOne) are currently in production on the Untitled Mary J. Blige documentary directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth. Blige will serve as an executive producer under her Blue Butterfly banner alongside Tara Long of eOne, Mark Ford and Kevin Lopez of Creature Films, with Sean Combs, and Ashaunna Ayars, Nicole Jackson of Blue Butterfly.
Twenty-five years ago, Mary J. Blige released her seminal album “My Life”. At the time, she was dealing with many personal struggles that she was able to channel into an emotional masterpiece that is uniquely beloved and universally celebrated. Now, Mary J. Blige is revisiting this music and reflecting on the woman she was then… and the woman she has become.
The film provides a personal and never before seen look into the emotional journey of Mary J. Blige’s past struggles with poverty, abuse, addiction and heartbreak. This raw and honest film follows the music legend as she heads out on a special concert tour to perform her sophomore album, “My Life”, for the first time ever as it approaches its 25-year anniversary. This album and its songs directly correspond to the love, motivation, passion, and healing that Mary J. Blige was experiencing then and has continued to experience through her life as an artist and human being.
Matt Newman, Co-Head of Movies at Amazon Studios said, “We all know Mary J. Blige as the two-time Oscar nominee, Grammy Award winning, multi-hyphenate who has sold over 80 million records. But through this documentary, audiences will see a raw and honest side of Mary J. Blige opening up about her personal journey of redemption and healing. We are thrilled to share with our worldwide Prime Video customers this exclusive, never-before-seen, inside look into the global legend, Mary J. Blige.”
“I have long admired Mary as an artist, an icon, and a strong, fearless woman. The story of her life has inspired us enormously and we are thrilled to be making this project with her and her team, Ashaunna and Nicole. Mary’s album “My Life” is both iconic and tremendously impactful, we hope that by bringing it to screens we can continue to inspire audiences around the world as her music has done for decades,” stated Tara Long, eOne’s President of Global Unscripted, Television.
Mary J. Blige has won 9 Grammy Awards®, 4 American Music Awards®, 12 Billboard Music Awards and a two-time Oscar®-Nominee for Best Supporting Actress & Best Original Song (Mudbound), becoming the first person ever nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year. Her second album “My Life” is ranked as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time & Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Albums. Billboard ranked her as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop artist of the past 25 years, with over 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. S: eOne
