Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood are pushing back against the unauthorized use of music from Phantom Thread in the documentary Melania, adding a creative rights dispute to the film’s already noisy release cycle.
The pair say a piece of Greenwood’s score was included without proper consultation, an issue they argue runs afoul of the composer’s contractual protections. While Greenwood does not personally own the music’s copyright, he maintains that approval was still required before the score could be licensed to a third party. That approval, according to the filmmakers, never happened.
Their request comes as Melania continues an unusual run at the box office. The film has posted solid theatrical numbers by documentary standards, but its financial story is complicated by an enormous investment from Amazon MGM. The studio spent tens of millions acquiring the project and backed it with a marketing campaign more typical of a major narrative release than a nonfiction portrait.
Industry chatter has followed, with some questioning the business logic behind the spend and others wondering whether the film’s prominence reflects larger strategic considerations. Amazon MGM has publicly addressed the film’s performance, a rare move that underscores the attention surrounding the project.
For Greenwood, the dispute highlights how central film scoring has become to his career. Long admired for his work with Radiohead, he has built an equally respected reputation in cinema, frequently collaborating with Anderson on films known for their mood, tension, and psychological depth. Phantom Thread remains one of their most acclaimed partnerships, praised for music that subtly heightens unease beneath the surface elegance of the story.
Whether the contested music is ultimately removed remains to be seen, but the situation serves as a reminder that even in documentary filmmaking, music rights can carry serious creative and legal weight.