As former U.S. president Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial begins in New York, Blue Ant Studios’ rights business announced Monday it has acquired the worldwide licensing rights for the two-hour documentary called Stormy, which profiles adult film star Stormy Daniels as she shares her story and account of events at the centre of the case.
The documentary comes from Emmy-nominated producer Erin Lee Carr (I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter) and producer/director Sarah Gibson (Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste), who are also the team behind the documentary Britney vs Spears, which examined the manipulation pop star Britney Spears suffered under her family’s conservatorship.
“Our team is thrilled to have international rights for this sought-after documentary produced by two renowned filmmakers who specialize in portraying the stories of women exploited and harmed by the legal system,” Lilla Hurst, global head of acquisitions and content strategy at Blue Ant Studios, said in a press release.
“This is an inside look with exclusive access into a David and Goliath battle and the consequences of being the voice of dissent against someone with ultimate power, a standing President. Audiences will see history through a new lens and walk away with an entirely different perspective,” Hurst said.
“Blue Ant Studios has an impressive track record working with documentary projects and turning them into global hits,” producer Carr said. “They understand exactly what we were trying to accomplish by showing Stormy as a mother, an artist and an advocate working hard to reinvent herself and we are excited to be partnering with them to take Stormy’s story to a global audience.”
The documentary, which is currently streaming on Peacock in the U.S., is executive produced by Emmy Award-winning Judd Apatow of Apatow Productions (George Carlin’s American Dream, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling) along with Emmy-winning Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers from Imagine Documentaries (The Super Models, Judy Blume Forever). Emelia Brown also serves as producer.
“Ultimately, this film is a constellation of kindred spirits — everyone involved had the bravery to tell a controversial person’s story and to give her a chance to speak her truth, like-minded hearts coming together saying, it’s not okay how this woman’s been treated with all the death threats,” director/producer Gibson said. “We all wanted to get behind her and tell her story with the hopes that this was an opportunity for her to live safely in this country with her daughter.”
A trailer of Stormy is available to watch here.
Photo of Stormy Daniels courtesy of Blue Ant Studios.
