A new feature-length documentary detailing the story behind the ill-fated, chart-topping pop duo Milli Vanilli is coming to Paramount+. The project, simply titled Milli Vanilli, will make its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival on June 10 before arriving on the streaming service in the fall.
After rocky upbringings in Germany, Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan joined forces to become one of the biggest pop groups in the world — scoring three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s (“Blame It on the Rain,” “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” and “Baby Don’t Forget My Number”) in 1989 and winning the best new artist Grammy in 1990 — before it was revealed that they didn’t actually sing on any of their massive hits. The new film, produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and MRC and directed by Luke Korem, will tell the duo’s “true story,” Morvan (the group’s lone surviving member) promises; Pilatus died of an alcohol and prescription drug overdose in 1998.
“Finally – the true story of Milli Vanilli has been told!” Morvan says in a statement announcing the film’s acquisition. “I’m thankful Luke Korem and his team went to the lengths that they did. The journey I returned to during the filming of this documentary didn’t leave any stone unturned. At last I can close this chapter in peace. … Get ready to take a walk in our steel-toe boots.”
Korem adds in his own statement: “For over 30 years, the story of Milli Vanilli – in particular Rob and Fab – has been reduced to sensational headlines. With this documentary, we pull back the curtain on pop music. Featuring interviews with the real singers, record executives, the producer mastermind behind the deception and exclusive interviews with Rob and Fab, we unveil the truth of this complex, exciting and dramatic story. I’m thrilled that Paramount+ shares our vision and will bring this film to audiences around the world.”
Milli Vanilli — which includes an interview with Billboard contributing writer/editor Gil Kaufman, who wrote an oral history on the group’s rise and fall in 2020 — is directed and produced by Korem and produced by Bradley Jackson, MRC, Keep On Running Pictures and MTV Entertainment Studios. Hanif Abdurraqib and Kim Marlowe are executive producers. The documentary will be available via Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the fall.
