MERCURY STUDIOS AND UTOPIA ORIGINALS TO PRODUCE FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE
AN INTIMATE LOOK AT THE SINGER, SONGWRITER AND PRODUCER
FROM FILMMAKER DON HARDY
LOS ANGELES, CA (September 21, 2023) – Mercury Studios and Utopia Originals announced today that award-winning filmmaker Don Hardy (Citizen Penn, Pick of the Litter, Theory of Obscurity) will direct the feature documentary LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE, an intimate look at the multi-faceted singer, songwriter and producer.
Linda Perry is one of the most outspoken and recognizable artists of the past 30 years. The hat, tattoos, attitude, and her massive hit single “What’s Up” with her band 4 Non Blondes made her an icon. But, in the decades since that song topped the charts, Perry has reinvented herself as a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, penning and producing hit-after-hit for artists like Adele, Christina Aguilera, Brandi Carlisle, Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, Ariana Grande, Alicia Keys, Dolly Parton, Pink, Gwen Stefani and Weezer. But this film is much more than the story of a talented musician. LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE offers viewers an intimate look at Perry’s personal and professional life during a particularly intense period. We see Perry at her most vulnerable and most courageous as she struggles with past and present, where fear, illness, loss, and the burdens of family compel her to grapple with questions all of us ask ourselves: Who am I? Am I loved? What’s my purpose? What will I leave behind? Produced with the full cooperation of Perry, the film features extraordinary access to the artist, including new footage, performances, and interviews with colleagues, family and friends.
Mercury Studios and Utopia Originals present a KTF Films production, LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE. The film is directed by Don Hardy and produced by Shawn Dailey and Don Hardy. The executive producers are Barak Moffitt, Daniel Seliger, Robert Schwartzman, Danielle DiGiacomo, Ellen Fair and Kim Forbes Tramel.
Alice Webb, CEO and Co-President of Mercury Studios, says, “Linda Perry is an extraordinarily gifted artist whose story of strength and resilience continues to reveal new truths about the human condition. Mercury Studios, in partnership with Utopia Originals, is proud to present her story.”
“Larger than life as a songwriter and producer, Linda Perry has proven herself one of pop music’s major creative forces,” Robert Schwartzman, co-founder of Utopia Studios, says. “Don Hardy’s intimate film explores Linda in all of her roles – musical genius, collaborator, mother, daughter, sister, among them, and follows her emotional journey as she searches to find her own voice and desires after a lifetime of helping others find theirs. Utopia is thrilled to work with a company of Mercury’s track record and caliber to bring her story to life.”
ABOUT DON HARDY
Don Hardy is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent feature documentary, Citizen Penn, premiered on Discovery+ in 2021. The film tells the story of the birth and growth of Sean Penn’s aid organization J/P HRO (now CORE), after a catastrophic earthquake shook Haiti in 2010. Hardy also recently completed production on the third season of “The Way Home,” a short-form documentary series he created that examines the homelessness epidemic in the United States. In early 2020, Hardy wrapped the first season of a documentary series for Disney+ called “Pick of the Litter,” which follows a group of puppies on their quest to become guide dogs for people who are blind. Throughout his career, Hardy has made films about several fascinating subjects – wrongful conviction (Witch Hunt), global terrorism (Love Hate Love), chemicals and their effects on human health (The Human Experiment), and avant-garde musicians (Theory of Obscurity). His films are often very personal and relatable while illuminating social justice issues and inequities in our world.
Before jumping into filmmaking, Hardy was a journalist for NBC, ABC, and FOX affiliates in New York, Florida, and California.
ABOUT MERCURY STUDIOS
Mercury Studios is a full-service production studio.
Current and recent projects include Telluride Film Festival selections American Symphony, a feature documentary by award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman that follows Jon Batiste and If These Walls Could Sing, the untold story of the world-famous Abbey Road Studios directed by celebrated British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney for Disney+; “My Life as a Rolling Stone,” a four-part docuseries of intimate portraits of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts for the BBC and MGM+; Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl, a career documentary about the superstar currently available on Netflix; Mixtape, the critically acclaimed feature documentary from Omar Acosta focused on the DJs and artists who shaped the sound and culture of Hip-Hop through mixtapes for Paramount+; and the forthcoming “This Town,” a six-part series for the BBC from writer, creator, and executive producer Steven Knight. Mercury Studios also produced “Sam Smith Live at the Royal Albert Hall” (BBC/Tik Tok) and Billie Eilish’s livestream event, “Overheated,” at The 02 London and the upcoming “Lang Lang Plays Disney” for Disney+.
Editorially independent, Mercury Studios is powered by Universal Music Group and represents the world’s leading catalogue of music-related content, consisting of thousands of hours of premium music-driven film and television programming.
ABOUT UTOPIA ORIGINALS
Co-founded by filmmaker Robert Schwartzman and Cole Harper in 2018, Utopia is a film distribution and sales company that specializes in independent and documentary cinema. Recent releases include acclaimed dark comedy Sick of Myself, Ali Abbasi’s awards contender and Cannes winner Holy Spider, and box office breakout Meet Me in the Bathroom, which documents the early years of The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and LCD Soundsystem. Other titles include the event-theatrical hit Facing Nolan; Sundance breakout and Gotham Awards-nominated We’re All Going to the World’s Fair by Jane Schoenbrun; Gaspar Noe’s Cannes-lauded Vortex starring Dario Argento; and the Indie Spirit-winner Shiva Baby by Emma Seligman.
Utopia Originals is a division of Utopia dedicated to the development, packaging, and sales of feature films and television content. Its most recently announced project is Drugstore June, a comedy ensemble feature from director Nicholaus Goossen (Grandma’s Boy), in partnership with All Things Comedy and Shout! Studios. The company is also developing the official Blues Brothers Docu-Series in collaboration with Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions.
ABOUT KTF FILMS
KTF Films is an independent production company based in Northern California. Founded in 2006, they’ve produced and directed several feature-length documentaries that have premiered at major film festivals and gone on to screen in cinemas worldwide. Today, their films can be seen on major screening platforms such as Discovery+, HBO, HULU, Apple, and Amazon. They also had the great pleasure of creating a documentary series for Disney+.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Main Stage Public Relations
Craig Bankey, cbankey@mainstagepr.com, 310.867.0881
Kevin McLaughlin, kmclaughlin@mainstagepr.com, 347.614.6904
