AceShowbiz - The documentary Melania includes music by iconic artists like the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, but some major musicians refused to grant permission for their songs to be featured. Producer Marc Beckman, who also advises the first lady, detailed these challenges in a recent interview with Variety.

Marc Beckman revealed that while licensing music for the film, they encountered political obstacles that prevented them from securing certain tracks. "There was music that we tried to get, but sadly, there were politics to it," Beckman explained.

One notable example involved the rock band Guns N' Roses. Beckman said the group was divided politically regarding the documentary. "There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys — I don’t want to name him, it’s not fair — said, 'You got it. Go.' But the other one was basically like, 'There’s just no way.' We needed everyone’s approval to include it, so Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us. We all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses."

Beckman also mentioned their intention to feature a song by Grace Jones, who they hold in "a tremendous amount of respect." However, she reportedly could not overcome the political concerns tied to the film despite it not being political in nature. "She apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle, notwithstanding the fact that the film is not a political film," he said. "So that was disappointing, too. It’s disappointing when people put politics so far ahead, and that happened a little bit with the film, for sure."

In addition to these artists, they were unable to obtain rights to music by Prince. Beckman said they were close to finalizing the deal until the lawyer representing the late artist’s estate intervened. "Prince would never want his song associated with Donald Trump," the lawyer reportedly stated. Beckman stressed that the documentary centers on Melania, and Donald Trump only appears occasionally, emphasizing it is not a political film. "That guy blocked it. It’s so ridiculous," Beckman told Variety.

The documentary, directed by Brett Ratner, received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Jesse Hassenger of DECIDER described it as "a disingenuous documentary that misfires by mistaking the First Lady’s fame for star power."

Regarding the film’s release on Prime Video, Beckman confirmed they are still coordinating with Amazon MGM Studios to set a launch date. "We’re pretty much almost done with it on the post-production side now," he said. "I think, conservatively predicting, mid-summer we’ll launch. We haven’t definitively picked a date yet, but it should be around then."

DECIDER reached out to representatives for Guns N' Roses and Grace Jones for comment but did not receive responses by the time of publication.