Sinead O’Connor documentary will still air despite singer’s death – to ‘tell her side of story’
Nothing Compares, a documentary about Sinead O’Connor, will still air on Saturday to provide viewers the opportunity to “hear her tell her side of the story”, according to the filmmaker.
Belfast-born director Kathryn Ferguson confirmed the original plan to release the programme on Sky Documentaries and Now from 29 July will proceed despite the recent passing of the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter at the age of 56.
The decision to move forward with the broadcast was made after careful consideration following the musician’s death.
The 2022 documentary delves into the late Irish star’s journey to international stardom, particularly after releasing her rendition of Nothing Compares 2 U, and the controversies she faced due to her outspoken protests.
The Irish singer in her music video for Nothing Compares 2 U
“We had been scheduled to release Nothing Compares today on Sky / Now for a very long time and after lots of thought we are going to go ahead with that plan,” Ferguson tweeted on Saturday.
“The reaction to the film and love for Sinead has been palpable and we feel screening it this weekend is the right thing to do, so that people can see her in all her glory and hear her tell her side of the story.”
She added: “An option she was rarely granted by some facets of the media who spent so much of their time being reductive of all she had to say.
“Nothing Compares is a love letter to Sinead. She meant the absolute world to me and I know she did to many of you.
“Watch the film, feel the rage, have a good cry and let’s remember the woman for her radical, magical ways and all she has done for us. I’ve never been prouder to be an Irish woman.”
The documentary examines pivotal moments in O’Connor’s late 80s and early 90s career through a “contemporary feminist lens”.
The singer gained fame with highly acclaimed albums, including her 1987 debut The Lion And The Cobra and Grammy-winning follow-up I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
The documentary examines pivotal moments in O’Connor’s late 80s and early 90s career
Throughout the decades, she released eight more albums, with her last, I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss, launched in 2014.
The Irish musician was renowned for her strong positions on social and political matters, notably when she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on US sketch show Saturday Night Live in 1992, protesting against the Catholic Church, which led to a vehement backlash.
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‘It isn’t good’: Sinead O’Connor’s final video
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The documentary showcases snippets from her music videos and live performances, along with previously unreleased footage and a more recent interview.
Ferguson previously expressed her desire for the documentary to “serve as a reminder of her greatness,” as she described O’Connor as “a special, funny and magnificent human being”.
She added: “Her fire lit a torch for so many of us, particularly those who grew up in the 1990s, and those who really needed her light.”
The filmmaker also expressed her gratitude for the “tremendous privilege” of creating the programme with the singer’s approval.
The documentary initially premiered at the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition in 2022 and later had a cinema release in October of the same year.
It received multiple award nominations and won the title of Best Feature Documentary at the Irish Film & Television Awards.
Nothing Compares will air on Sky Documentaries at 9pm and will be available on the subscription service Now. It will also be shown on Sky Showcase and Sky Arts.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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