Courtney Love Cancels ‘Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck’ Appearance At SXSW

Courtney Love will be missing in action at the premiere of “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.” The actress and musician has been busy lately, landing guest roles on Fox's “Empire” and ABC’s “Revenge" -- apparently too busy to attend the screening of the documentary profiling her late husband -- Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain – at South by Southwest in Austin Wednesday. The film festival attributed the pullout to a “last minute change” in the Love’s schedule, but they have been reports that she is rocky terms with the filmmakers.

South by Southwest notified members of the press Monday morning that Love would be unable to attend the “Montage of Heck” premiere -- scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CDT at the Paramount Theater in Austin -- after a last-minute change to her schedule. Red carpet interviews for the event also were canceled.

Toward the end of 2014, reports surfaced of tension between Love and her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain -- an executive producer on the movie -- due to Love’s diminished role on the film. It was Love who originally had approached director Brett Morgen to make the documentary, but Morgen later decided Love was too much a subject of the film to retain any editorial control. However, Frances Bean Cobain, who had inherited the rights to much of her father’s material, became a key contributor, earning an executive producer credit. The transfer of power resulted in an ugly public feud between Love and her daughter that culminated in Frances Bean obtaining a restraining order against her mother.

Love has not made any public statements about her South by Southwest cancellation and continues to support the documentary on Twitter, retweeting reviews and mentions.

Love previously attended the premiere of "Montage of Heck" at the Sundance Film Festival in January and a showing at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. At Sundance, she walked the red carpet with her daughter, sharing a hug during their rare public appearance together. Could the relationship have deteriorated again since then?

Or perhaps the reason for her absence is more personal. On Friday, comedian Russell Brand canceled his appearance at the South by Southwest premiere of “Brand: A Second Coming,” claiming that watching the documentary about him was “very uncomfortable.” According to the film’s director, Ondi Timoner, Brand had tried to block the movie from being shown at the festival. Could Courtney Love be wrestling with similar emotions over “Montage of Heck”?

If the trailer for “Montage of Heck” is any indication, Love is a big part of the movie. Though the actress will be absent when the film screens Wednesday, her presence will still loom large over the festival.

Watch the trailer for “Montage of Heck” below: