Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a 1987 American short biographical film produced and directed by Todd Haynes, co-written by Haynes and Cynthia Schneider, and follows scenes from the final seven years of Karen Carpenter's life. The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1990 after Haynes lost a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Karen's brother and musical collaborator, Richard Carpenter. The film's title is derived from The Carpenters' 1971 hit song, "Superstar".
Over the years, it has developed into a cult film and is included in Entertainment Weekly 's 2003 list of top 50 cult movies.Synopsis
The film covers Karen Carpenter from the time of her "discovery" in 1966 to her untimely death by cardiac arrest (secondary to anorexia nervosa) in 1983. The movie begins with a quasi-first person recap of her mother Agnes Carpenter discovering Karen's body in her parents' Downey, California home on February 4, 1983, and then returns by flashback to 1966. The story touches on major points in Karen's life from 1966 on:
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