Jonny Greenwood says his music doesn’t belong in Brett Ratner’s film
Radiohead guitarist and acclaimed film composer Jonny Greenwood has asked for his music to be removed from Brett Ratner’s controversial new documentary Melania.
The piece in question comes from Greenwood’s score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread – a track that earned the composer an Oscar nomination back in 2017.
Greenwood isn’t acting alone: PTA himself has backed the move.
Both say that Universal Pictures, which holds the copyright to the Phantom Thread score, licensed the music to Melania without Greenwood’s consultation — something they say breaches the terms of his composer agreement.
While the studio technically owns the rights, Greenwood and Anderson argue that being consulted should have been non-negotiable.
Fans online have been quick to support Greenwood, with many pointing out the oddness of pairing his haunting, delicate compositions with a documentary about the former First Lady.
Others have raised the legal question: if Universal owns the score, can Greenwood really force its removal? The answer likely hinges on contractual fine print.
For now, Universal and Amazon have yet to respond. But the situation highlights the tension between artistic control and corporate licensing — especially when music ends up somewhere the creator never intended.
