Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck invites you to experience Kurt’s life, art, and mind through his own unique lens, bringing you as close to the generation-defining icon as it’s possible to get. This first-ever fully authorized documentary feature blends Cobain’s personal archive of art, music (both his most famous and some that’s never been heard), written word, and never-before-seen home movies with animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest confidantes. Following Kurt from his earliest years in Aberdeen, Wash., through the height of his fame, it creates an intense and powerful cinematic insight into an artist who craved the spotlight even as he rejected the trappings of fame.
Those of Kurt’s generation will learn things about him they never knew. Those who’ve discovered the man and his music more recently will understand what makes Kurt the lasting icon that he is.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
Dubbed the “mad scientist” of documentary film, Brett Morgen has been writing, directing, and producing groundbreaking documentary films for the past fifteen years. Morgen received a BA in Mythology and American History at Hampshire College in 1992 and an MFA in film from NYU in 1999. His NYU thesis film, On the Ropes (1999), premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury award. The film won several awards and honors, including the 1999 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, the 1999 IDA Award for Best Documentary, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary.
In 2002, Focus Features released Morgen’s second movie, The Kid Stays In the Picture, which he adapted from Robert Evan’s memoirs of the same name. The film premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was an official selection at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. The New York Times called the film “one of the funniest films of the year” and it was named one of the best films of the year by over fifty publications, including Entertainment Weekly. It was also named Best Documentary of 2002 by the Boston, Washington DC, and Seattle Film Critics.
In 2007, Morgen wrote, produced, and directed Chicago 10, one of the first feature-length animated documentary films. Selected as the Opening Night film of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Chicago 10 was released theatrically by Roadhouse Attractions. The film was the recipient of several awards and nominations, among them nominations for the Emmy, WGA, and ACE Awards. That same year, Morgen created and served as Executive Producer on the award-winning series Nimrod Nation, an eight-part television documentary that had its first public screening at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Nimrod Nation was named one of the Best TV series of the year by The Los Angeles Times, and in 2008, the series was awarded the Peabody Award for its honest and unflinching portrait of small-town America.
In 2010, Morgen directed June 17, 1994 as part of ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series. Morgen’s film, which examined the infamous OJ Simpson Bronco chase, was recently named by Rolling Stone as the single best film released in the 30 for 30 series. The film received a Peabody Award and several Emmy nominations, including a nomination for Best Documentary. In 2012, Morgen wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Rolling Stones documentary, Crossfire Hurricane. The film, which has been screened in nearly every country around the world, was the recipient of four Primetime Emmy Nominations, including Best Documentary.
In 2015, Universal Pictures International will be bringing Morgen’s latest film, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, to cinemas around the world. Following its global release, the film will be broadcast on HBO in the United States. Morgen has been developing the movie for eight years and is serving as the film’s writer, director, producer, and editor. In addition to his documentary work, Morgen has been directing commercials at Anonymous Content since 2000, where he has directed over 200 spots for some of the biggest brands in the world.