“Freedom"

While I’m on the topic of cocaine, I just watched a documentary about George Michael that was written and directed by George Michael shortly before his untimely death after a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse.
Nowhere in the 1.5-hour documentary (incl commercials) did he mention his drug use. Not even obliquely. If you watch the film you learn two things. He fell deeply in love for the first time with a man who was diagnosed HIV+ within six months of their meeting. He’s never gotten over that first love. And he took Sony to court to get out of a 20-year contract. He lost but won because David Geffen bought out his contract, giving him the creative freedom Sony denied him.
George Michael was a great singer, a great songwriter, and a well respected artist, as attested to in on-camera appearances by: Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Noel Gallagher, Mary J. Blige, Nile Rodgers, and lots of footage providing the evidence.
He said he wanted to be remembered as a songwriter and as someone with integrity. He gets marks for integrity for standing up for young artists who sign, essentially, a lifetime contract. They should have a chance to renegotiate and even exit if there are irreconcilable differences. But I think he loses integrity marks for presenting a heavily filtered version of his life. I don’t think any person can give a fair portrayal of themselves--the good and the bad. Maybe it’s unfair to think of the film as biography. Maybe it was just to give some insight into the creative process behind his work.
10-21