Dan Auerbach’s Dr. John Documentary Is Not Authorized, Says Late New Orleans Musician’s Estate

Earlier this month, Dan Auerbach announced that he’d be directing a documentary on his late collaborator Dr. John. The estate of Dr. John now says that the documentary is unauthorized, as Rolling Stone notes.

In a statement on Dr. John’s website, the estate wrote, “The Official Estate of Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr., p/k/a Dr. John, clarifies that the Estate has not authorized the recently announced documentary on the life of Dr. John purportedly to be produced by Impact Artist Productions (and Management) and Radical Media. For clarity, Impact Artist Productions (and Management) does not manage or speak for the Estate, which has its own team with, as Mac would say, a gang and a half of legalizers.” Find the full statement below.

When contacted by Pitchfork, representatives for the estate offered no additional comment.

A statement from Impact Artists and RadicalMedia, shared with Pitchfork, reads: “Our intention and ambition has and continues to be to collaborate with the Estate to properly honor Dr. John’s legacy. We look forward to amicably advancing these conversations to collectively celebrate and further immortalize this singular, legendary artist.”

Dan Auerbach produced Dr. John’s 2012 album Locked Down. In a press release on the documentary, he said:

I’m thrilled to be partnering with RadicalMedia and Impact Artist Productions to try my hand at directing a documentary feature for the first time and I’m honored to have the subject be my friend Dr. John. He was such a unique individual and a shining example of the great melting pot of American music. From his mysterious voodoo stage persona Dr. John, to his real, humble self Mac Rebannack—the street poet, the family man, the junkie, the Grammy award winner, and all that’s in between, this documentary will introduce the world to him in a way they haven’t seen him before. I’m still learning bits about him that I never knew, and I hope the movie provides a lens into the story of the life of Dr. John.

The press release on the documentary also said that the executive producers would include Jon Kamen and Jon Doran (for RadicalMedia), Dr. John’s longtime managers Ed Gerard and Peter Himberger of Impact Artist Productions, and independent producer Leopoldo Gout.