Kevin Smith, the filmmaker, was once a great fan of the musician Prince. The respect ran both ways; Prince also had great admiration for Smith's work, particularly his film 'Dogma,' which is a comedy that deals with the subject of religion.
Prince called Smith on his home phone and asked to collaborate on the making of a documentary. Prince spoke in very vague and obscure terms. According to Smith, Prince initially wasn't clear about what he wanted the final product to look like. As Smith found out, Prince often speaks very cryptically.
Later, Smith was told the documentary, for which he was not paid, was to be about religion, race, and reaction to Prince's new album. The Purple One's goal was to "change the world." By that point, the relationship had begun to sour between the two, a fallout which was made worse by Prince's passionate preaching about Christianity and his unwillingness to listen to Smith's concerns.
After the roller coaster of events, Smith found out that Prince keeps dozens of music videos and songs locked in a vault and that there was a chance his documentary would end up there too without ever being seen! No one really knows why.
Fed up, Smith left the project feeling unappreciated.
