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00:29Walt and Annette Kowalski.
00:30It also chronicles his death and the eventual legal battles that ensued around
00:34profits from his likeness between Ross's son Steve, who serves as a central character,
00:38and the Kowalski.
00:39The doc ultimately suggests that Ross's long-time business partners strong-armed his
00:43heir, his father, and his father.
00:44Ross's late third wife and half-brother out of profits and parts of his estate that
00:47controlled how his legacy was torn.
00:49It also suggests an affair between Annette and Bob.
00:52The doc was produced by Melissa McCarthy.
00:54And Ben Falcone.
00:55On the day of the film's release, Falcone told NPR,
00:58We've never intended to set out and create a hit piece.
01:00We like Bob Ross, and we still do.
01:03We were surprised to uncover some of the things we uncovered.
01:05But in a public statement posted to the Bob Ross
01:08Inc. website on Wednesday.
01:09The company claims that although the doc's portrayal of the painter's quote
01:13inspiring positive outlook was accurate, the filmmakers failed to offer them a proper chance to respond
01:18to allegations made in the documentary.
01:20The statement began,
01:21Bob Ross Inc. takes strong issue
01:23with the inaccurate and heavily slanted portrayal of our company in the Netflix film Bob Ross Happy Act.
01:28It went on to say in part,
01:31While the producers of the Netflix film did come
01:33contact Bob Ross Inc. twice in late August and October 2020, each request arrived
01:38replete with a confounding lack of transparency.
01:40Had the filmmakers communicated with openness in their
01:43correspondence, Bob Ross Inc.
01:44could have provided valuable information and context in an attempt to achieve
01:48a more balanced and informed film.
01:50The company also said after seeing media reports about the film
01:53film's summer release, Bob Ross Inc. attempted to reach out to the filmmakers in May 2021 to offer
01:58a comment.
01:59They did not return calls or emails and finally responded through their attorney.
02:02We provided a
02:03comprehensive statement and the filmmakers chose not to use it.
02:06A statement featured at the end of the documentary
02:08acknowledges this correspondence took place after the movie had already been completed.
02:12It notes that the
02:13The
02:15Huskies, quote,
02:16denied that their relationship with Bob Ross was ever fractured at any point and also denied
02:18that an affair took place between Annette and Bob.
02:20For much more on this story, go to THR.com.
02:23For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
02:28For The Hollywood Reporter News
02:29Stephen Gray
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