FriendsTheme Writer Allee Willis Began Filming Life for New Doc 41 Years Before She Died (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

The artist that theWashington Postcalled “the most interesting woman you’ve never heard of” is getting her documentary due on Nov. 15 when Magnolia Pictures releasesThe World According to Allee Willis.

Cyndi Lauper (left) and Allee Willis in the early ’90s.Courtesy of the Estate of Allee Willis and Magnolia Pictures

Courtesy of the Estate of Allee Willis and Magnolia Pictures

In addition to being a successful songwriter, she was an art director, a set designer and an internet pioneer. She also won two Grammys and was nominated for a Tony (for the score fromThe Color Purple) and an Emmy (for the aforementionedFriendstheme). And yet, her name has gone largely unsung — until now.

“I’m not gonna be discovered artistically until after I’m gone,” she announces near the beginning of the posthumous documentary’s trailer, which PEOPLE is exclusively debuting.

After revealing she started filming her life in 1978 (some of that footage is featured prominently in the trailer), she says, “I’ve always known that my final art piece would be someone putting together the trail I’ve left behind.”

That someone would be director Alexis Manya Spraic, who was introduced to the work of Willis after her death through their late mutual friendPaul Reubens, who appears in the trailer.

Allee Willis and Paul Reubens.Courtesy of the Estate of Allee Willis and Magnolia Pictures

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In the documentary’s promotional notes, Spraic shares some of her own impressions of Willis: “As I came to understand, underneath her dynamic personality and audacious look and lifestyle was a lifelong struggle to accept herself, even as to most around her she appeared to be a beacon of self-expression and self-acceptance.”

‘The World According to Allee Willis’.Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

“As a young child she was already acutely aware of her failure to meet established gender norms and later in life expectations about her sexuality. Her way of coping was astounding and inspirational — she went so big in expressing her individuality that she found a subversive way to be herself.”

Despite the dark clouds, the overall tone of the trailer is jubilant, befitting a creative genius who specialized in day-glo artistry — a woman who, as one of her admirers points out, was “an explosion of creativity.”

The World According to Allee Willisis in select theaters Nov. 15.

source: people.com