Richard sued Haynes for failing to obtain the clearances and won to the point of blocking Superstar'''s theatrical release. The Museum of Modern Art retains a copy of this film, but in an agreement with The Carpenter Estate, they do not exhibit it. Nevertheless, bootleg copies remain in circulation and it can still be seen on YouTube. In his analysis of Superstars bootleg existence, Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film studies at University of California, Irvine, stated: "Analogue reproduction of the text rather than destroying the original's aura, actually reconstructs it. Materially the fallout of the image and sound mark each successive copy as an illicit object, a forbidden pleasure watched and shared and loved to exhaustion." In 2003, Entertainment Weekly labeled the film at #45 on the list of the Top 50 Cult Movies. See also Fan filmThe Karen Carpenter Story'' - the 1989 sanitized television movie also about Karen's death that involved Richard's official participation References External links Article on the film on The Guardian Review of the film at The Washington Post The Carpenters 1987 films 1987 animated films 1980s biographical films American biographical films Films directed by Todd Haynes Films about Barbie Biographical films about musicians American independent films American avant-garde and experimental films American nonlinear narrative films 1987 short films Films using stop-motion animation 1980s avant-garde and experimental films Cultural depictions of pop musicians Cultural depictions of American women Bard College Films shot in New York (state) Copyright infringement 1980s English-language films Unreleased American films 1980s American films