‘Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind’: Why was sister Lana missing from the HBO documentary?
Natalie Wood is no more. But, she is still alive in the hearts of her near and dear ones. The charming Hollywood actress left a deep mark with her acting prowess in movies like 'Splendor in the Grass', 'West Side Story', and 'From Here to Eternity'.
Filled with charismatic pictures and old clips, a new documentary ‘Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind’ brings back her spark, innocence, and grace from those days. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, it features Wood's older daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, who confesses how she imagines her mother after losing her at a young age.
The documentary also includes Robert Wagner, whom she married twice, and her ex-husband Richard Gregson. A few friends and co-stars, including Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, and Elliott Gould, also talk about the old days when they worked with her.
Quite mysteriously, her sister Lana Wood is missing from the film. Why wasn't she contacted to appear in the film and present her version of the story? Even though the documentary was a beautiful amalgamation of her personal and professional life, was it a PR job? Several viewers were irked by that and some even went on to question the decision on Twitter.
"Lana Wood is missing from the Natalie Wood HBO doc. It's pretty obvious that Robert Wagner cut off ties with Lana since Natalie died. I'm so tired of RJ getting away with so much. Of course, Natasha believes her stepdad or Daddy Wagner," one said and another posted, "#LanaWood is conspicuous by her absence in this documentary, clearly, it's to control the narrative set forth by Gregson and Wagner #NatalieWood #NatalieWoodHBO."
The differences between the two families are no secret. Lana always suspected Robert Wagner's involvement in Natalie's death and even publicly confronted him in 2016 during a tense showdown, according to Fox News. Moreover, Natasha wrote in her book, 'More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood', that she only wanted money from them and even sold Natalie's clothes after her death.
Moreover, in the documentary, she speaks directly to the camera and says, “She’s literally accused my dad of killing my mom when that’s the farthest thing from the truth.”
In a tell-all interview with Fox News in 2018, Lana had said, “I don’t think there’s a mystery. I think it was very sloppy work on the coroner’s part, on the investigation. Things were dismissed too rapidly. I don’t to this day understand why [Wagner] didn’t go to his wife’s side when her body was found floating in the water. She was identified by Dennis Davern, who was the skipper on the boat.”
With two sides trying to prove they are innocent, it does create a huge clash. Sadly, the real reason behind Natalie Wood's death is not known until now and perhaps it will always be shrouded in mystery. The documentary premiered on HBO this May 5, 2020, at 9 pm ET.