Lil Wayne in real life.

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By Alison Willmore on 10/22/2009

This morning, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a weapon in the second degree, which could mean up to a year in jail. So "The Carter," the documentary portrait from director Adam Bhala Lough that Wayne tried to prevent from premiering at Sundance, is probably not the first thing on his mind. In the face of jail time, the concerns that led the rapper to seek an injunction preventing distribution of the film he and his management claimed "would cause irreparable damage to Wayne's reputation and career" probably seem a little less pressing. Perhaps he feels he's got that whole "damage" thing handled.

Now the film is, finally, coming to DVD on November 17th, having fought off a lawsuit attempt from Wayne, who wanted certain scenes removed, back in April. It's arriving pretty much unscathed -- according to Lough, "mainly we had to put a disclaimer at the intro saying Wayne does not support or endorse the film anymore."

I'm guessing it'll do fine without that seal of approval. Here's my review from Sundance -- as I wrote then, "'The Carter' follows Lil Wayne unblinkingly on tour, as he bounces from Amsterdam to Atlanta and back again, apparently unmoored and eternally on the road, recording in hotel rooms and buses with the equipment that's always with him, high all the time on weed, on codeine cough syrup cut with soda." It's neither expose nor overly glossy portrait -- just a fascinating, artfully made snapshot of the rapper's life, afloat in a bubble of fame: