Diane Warren: Relentless

“She’s a pain.”

Tenacious, driven and impressive, Diane Warren: Relentless is an unsanitised documentary exploration of the explosive hitmaker whose songs top charts and garner awards nominations as the result of a crazy, combative, abrasive, emotional, loving, caring and truly relentless creative force. 

Discussion Points:

Diane Warren gets a bit of a bad wrap in certain circles as an Oscar chaser who’s only in it for the glory. But that’s such a shallow and valid view of the truly multitalented songwriter whose litany of hits and catalog is worth half a billion dollars!! She’s maybe the most prolific and successful songwriter in history. And it’s fascinating being granted inner access to her process - which is actually non-existent. She has no formula. No template. She just works her butt off writing hit after hit. She’s tenacious. She’s unrelenting. She’s a real pain in the ass! Great use of interviews with numerous artists to give a glimpse into how difficult she can be to work with. But she’s also got genuine talent and has curried immense favour amongst her peers not only for her talent, but for her singular quirky neurodivergent personality. And I appreciated how the documentary examines her pricklier and more peculiar parts amidst her chart-topping success. My only issue is the asynchronous approach the film takes at points - after a section about Warren vying for her 13th Oscar nomination, they flash back to a previous Oscar song - Til It Happens To You with Lady Gaga, and the film makes it seem like one came after the other - when it was actually from 8 years earlier - which still speaks to how long she’s been close to winning. I usually joke about the inevitable Diane Warren Oscar nom every year, but now I’m genuinely rooting for her, and look forward to hearing what she writes next - because it’s sure to be a banger! She is truly relentless - and it’s commendable!