Whitney (2018 film)

Last updated

Whitney
Whitney (2018 film).jpg
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Written byKevin Macdonald
Produced by
  • Simon Chinn
  • Jonathan Chinn
  • Lisa Erspamer
Starring
CinematographyNelson Hume
Edited bySam Rice-Edwards
Music by Adam Wiltzie
Production
companies
  • Lisa Erspamer Entertainment
  • Lightbox [1]
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 16 May 2018 (2018-05-16)(Cannes)
  • 6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)(United States)
Running time
122 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.7 million [2]

Whitney is a 2018 documentary film about the American singer and actress Whitney Houston. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald and produced by Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn and Lisa Erspamer. Whitney was screened out of competition at the world premiere as part of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2018 with a cinema release on 6 July 2018. [3] [4] [5] [6] The film was also released on home media where it debuted at number one on the UK Official Music Video Chart. [7] The film received positive reviews from critics and audiences and grossed $4.7 million worldwide at the box office. In December 2018, Whitney was nominated at the 61st Grammy Awards for Best Music Film. [8]

Contents

Production

Development

The concept of a documentary evolved when Lisa Erspamer worked as co-executive producer for the singer’s special two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009. In 2015 Erspamer approached Houston's sister-in-law Pat Houston and Houston’s film agent Nicole David to discuss the idea. David then suggested Scottish film director Kevin Macdonald. Co-producer Simon Chinn recalls: “We raised the full budget in 10 days exclusively from theatrical pre-sales which is quite possibly a first for a documentary.” [9]

Filming

In July 2016, Macdonald began filming the interviews of around 70 people. Important members that are interviewed were Ellen White, a family friend, Mary Jones, longtime personal assistant, Houston’s older brothers Michael and Gary and other members of the Houston family. [9] Houston’s mother Cissy was interviewed in Newark, New Jersey, others were conducted in Los Angeles, New York City and Atlanta. [9]

More than 1,500 tapes of archival footage of varying quality were found including 250 masters, 2,000 stills and footage originally discovered on YouTube with Sam Dwyer as archive producer. Private footage was gathered from all over the world including Japan, the Netherlands and Los Angeles. [10]

Post-production

A substantial amount of the editing, including changing screen size, and frame rate was done at Molinare, a post-production company in London’s Soho. [10]

Music

Composer Adam Wiltzie was in charge of the film's music and score. [11] Some excerpt examples used in the soundtrack for the film: [9]

Release

The film is a joint British-American venture produced by Lisa Erspamer Entertainment and Lightbox, with Roadside Attractions, Miramax and Altitude Film Distribution serving as distributors. [12] [1] [6] It is also presented in association with Altitude Film Entertainment. [13] Whitney was released in cinemas in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland on 6 July 2018, by (UK) Altitude and (US) Roadside Attractions. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on 26 July 2018. [14] [15]

The world premiere for the film was on 16 May 2018 at the Cannes Film Festival. [16] [17] Screenings also took place at the Edinburgh and Sydney Film Festivals. [18] [19]

Marketing

The official teaser trailer for the UK and Ireland was released by Altitude Films on 5 April 2018 on YouTube with the full trailer released on 25 May 2018. [20] [21]

Home media

It was released in widescreen by digital download on 2 October and DVD/Blu-ray on 16 October 2018. [22] The DVD and Blu-ray releases include audio commentary from producer Simon Chinn and director Kevin Macdonald, photo gallery and theatrical trailer. [23] The film debuted at #1 on 4 November 2018, staying at that position for two weeks on the UK Official Music Video Chart, based on sales of DVDs and other physical formats. [7]

Reception

Box office

Whitney began its release on 6 July 2018. During its opening weekend in the United States and Canada it grossed $1.3 million from 452 theaters, finishing 11th at the box office. 65% of its audience was female, with 35% being between the age of 25-49. [24]

In the United Kingdom, the film opened on 6 July 2018 grossing £142,936 ($189,923) from 231 screens in its opening weekend, finishing twelfth at the box office. [25] [26] It grossed another £44,968 ($59,497) on 174 screens in its second weekend, a 68% decrease over the first week grossing a total of £323,532 ($428,066) through 10 days. [27] [26] Over 13 weeks it grossed a total of £459,725. [28]

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Whitney shifts from soaring highs to heartbreaking lows with palpable emotion and grace befitting its singular subject." [29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. [24]

Terri White for Empire gave it four out of five, calling it: "A sobering, haunting but completely fresh look at Whitney's life and death that will reframe everything you think you know about the singer." [31] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: "In Whitney, Macdonald lays out Houston's story—the light and the darkness—in a classically etched, kinetically edited way. He makes superb use of archival footage, tickles us with montages of her heyday (not just Houston but the whole era—the way her songs, in hindsight, tapped into a certain free-floating ’80s jubilance), and interviews her family members and associates. The film captures the quality that made Whitney Houston magical, but more than that it puts together the warring sides of her soul." [32]

Awards and nominations

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)Result
Grammy Award 10 February 2019 Best Music Film WhitneyNominated [8]
Detroit Film Critics Society 3 December 2018Best DocumentaryWhitneyNominated [33]
Edinburgh Film Festival 28 June 2018Best Documentary Feature FilmWhitneyWon [34]
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards 13 February 2019Best Music Supervision for a DocumentaryBree Winwood and Gary Welch - WhitneyNominated [35] [36]
Critics' Circle Film Awards 20 January 2019Documentary of the YearWhitneyNominated [37]

Charts

Chart (2018)Peak
position
Irish Music DVD Chart (IRMA)3 [38]
UK Official Music Video Chart (OCC)1 [39]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Year of Living Dangerously</i> (film) 1982 Australian romantic political drama

The Year of Living Dangerously is a 1982 romantic drama film directed by Peter Weir and co-written by Weir and David Williamson. It was adapted from Christopher Koch's 1978 novel The Year of Living Dangerously. The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno. It follows a group of foreign correspondents in Jakarta on the eve of an attempted coup by the 30 September Movement in 1965. The film is considered one of the last in the Australian New Wave genre.

<i>Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse</i> 1991 American documentary film

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is a 1991 American documentary film about the production of Apocalypse Now, the 1979 Vietnam War epic directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

<i>Woodstock</i> (film) 1970 documentary film by Michael Wadleigh

Woodstock is a 1970 American documentary film of the watershed counterculture Woodstock Festival which took place in August 1969 near Bethel, New York.

<i>Mr. Beans Holiday</i> 2007 film directed by Steve Bendelack

Mr. Bean's Holiday is a 2007 comedy film directed by Steve Bendelack and written by Hamish McColl and Robin Driscoll, from a story penned by Simon McBurney. Based on the British sitcom series Mr. Bean created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, it is a standalone sequel to Bean (1997). The film stars Atkinson in the title role, with Max Baldry, Emma de Caunes, Willem Dafoe and Karel Roden in supporting roles. In the film, Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes, France, but on his way there, he is mistaken for both a kidnapper and an award-winning filmmaker when he travels with both a Russian filmmaker's son and an aspiring actress in tow.

<i>Planet Earth</i> (2006 TV series) 2006 British nature documentary television series

Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series received multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and an award from the Royal Television Society.

<i>The Last Exorcism</i> 2010 American film

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Caleb Landry Jones, and Louis Herthum.

<i>Monsters</i> (2010 film) 2010 British film

Monsters is a 2010 British science-fiction horror film written and directed by Gareth Edwards. Edwards also served as the cinematographer, production designer, and a visual effects artist. The film takes place years after a NASA probe crashed in Mexico, which leads to the sudden appearance of giant tentacled monsters. It follows Andrew Kaulder, an American photojournalist tasked with escorting his employer's daughter Samantha Wynden back to the United States by crossing through Mexico's "Infected Zone", where the creatures reside.

<i>Justin Bieber: Never Say Never</i> 2011 American film

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is a 2011 American 3-D concert film centering on Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It received generally positive reviews from critics. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2011 and grossed $99 million worldwide, against a $13 million production budget. A sequel was released on December 25, 2013, entitled Justin Bieber's Believe.

<i>Clouds of Sils Maria</i> 2014 film

Clouds of Sils Maria is a 2014 psychological drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz. The film is a French-German-Swiss co-production. Principal photography took place from August to October 2013, with most of the filming taking place in Sils Maria, Switzerland. The film follows an established middle-aged actress (Binoche) who is cast as the older lover in a romantic lesbian drama opposite an upstart young starlet (Moretz). She is overcome with personal insecurities and professional jealousies—all while sexual tension simmers between her and her personal assistant (Stewart). The screenplay was written with Binoche in mind and incorporates elements from her life into the plot.

<i>Amy</i> (2015 film) 2015 film

Amy is a 2015 British documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia and produced by James Gay-Rees. The film covers British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's life and her struggle with substance abuse, both before and after her career blossomed, and which eventually caused her death. In February 2015, a teaser trailer based on the life of Winehouse debuted at a pre-Grammys event. David Joseph, CEO of Universal Music UK, announced that the documentary titled Amy would be released later that year. He further stated: "About two years ago we decided to make a movie about her—her career and her life. It's a very complicated and tender movie. It tackles lots of things about family and media, fame, addiction, but most importantly, it captures the very heart of what she was about, which is an amazing person and a true musical genius."

Altitude Film Distribution is a British film distribution company, part of the Altitude Film Entertainment group. The parent company was launched in 2012 by Optimum Releasing founder Will Clarke. Altitude Film Entertainment is vertically integrated, with divisions that handle film production, finance and international sales, as well as UK distribution.

<i>Mary and the Witchs Flower</i> 2017 Japanese film

Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart, it was Studio Ponoc's first feature film. It stars the voices of Hana Sugisaki, Yūki Amami and Fumiyo Kohinata.

<i>Dragon Ball Super: Broly</i> 2018 film directed by Tatsuya Nagamine

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a 2018 Japanese anime martial arts fantasy adventure film, directed by Tatsuya Nagamine and written by Dragon Ball series creator Akira Toriyama. It is a canonical reimagining of Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, the twentieth animated Dragon Ball feature film and twenty-first overall, the third film produced with Toriyama's direct involvement, and the first to carry the Dragon Ball Super branding.

<i>Bros: After the Screaming Stops</i> 2018 documentary film

Bros: After the Screaming Stops is a 2018 documentary film about the English pop band Bros consisting of twins Matt and Luke Goss. It was directed by Joe Pearlman and David Soutar and produced by Leo Pearlman. The film documents the band’s preparation for their reunion shows at London's O2 Arena in August 2017, 28 years after their last performance. It is a British venture produced by Fulwell 73, with Lorton Entertainment and XYZ Films serving as distributors. It is also in association with BBC Music.

<i>Pavarotti</i> (film) 2019 UK-US documentary film

Pavarotti is a 2019 documentary film directed by Ron Howard about Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The film had a nationwide premiere event through Fathom Events on June 4, 2019, and was released in theaters on June 7, 2019. Pavarotti is an American-British venture, with CBS Films and HanWay Films serving as distributors.

<i>Apollo 11</i> (2019 film) 2019 documentary film

Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film edited, produced and directed by Todd Douglas Miller. It focuses on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight from which men walked on the Moon. The film consists solely of archival footage, including 70 mm film previously unreleased to the public, and does not feature narration, interviews or modern recreations. The Saturn V rocket, Apollo crew consisting of Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins, and Apollo program Earth-based mission operations engineers are prominently featured in the film.

<i>Robert the Bruce</i> (film) 2019 war film by Richard Gray

Robert the Bruce is a 2019 British historical fiction war film directed by Richard Gray concerning the renowned king of the same name. A character-driven ensemble piece, it portrays Robert's relationship with a peasant family as a galvanising influence on his struggle for independence and his ensuing reign.

<i>Amazing Grace</i> (2018 film) 2018 American documentary film featuring Aretha Franklin

Amazing Grace is a 2018 concert film "realized and produced" by Alan Elliott. The film's footage was shot under the direction of Sydney Pollack, who does not receive directorial credit, just a "special thanks." Amazing Grace stars Aretha Franklin recording her 1972 live album of the same name. It co-stars James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, and the Southern California Community Choir, and features her father C. L. Franklin.

<i>Diego Maradona</i> (film) 2019 British documentary film by Asif Kapadia

Diego Maradona is a 2019 British documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia about Argentine legend Diego Maradona with never before seen archival footage. It was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Mystify: Michael Hutchence</i> 2019 documentary film by Richard Lowenstein

Mystify: Michael Hutchence is a 2019 documentary film about the life of musician, actor and singer-songwriter Michael Hutchence, lead vocalist of the Australian rock band INXS. It is written and directed by Richard Lowenstein and relies primarily on rare archive footage, outtakes, private home video and audio commentary provided by friends, ex-partners, band members, record producers and family. An Australian-British venture, the film was co-produced by Ghost Pictures, Passion Pictures with Madman Entertainment and Dogwoof serving as distributors. It is in association with Baird Films and Film Victoria. Mystify: Michael Hutchence had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 25 April 2019, and was theatrically released in Australia on 4 July 2019. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 18 October receiving generally positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. 1 2 Academy Award-Winner Kevin Macdonald To Direct Official Whitney Houston Documentary - 28 April 2016
  2. ↑ "Whitney (2018)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  3. ↑ WHITNEY - Festival de Cannes
  4. ↑ Rooney, David (16 May 2018). "'Whitney': Film Review Cannes 2018". The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Miller, Julie (16 May 2018). "Whitney Houston's Dark Family Secret Uncovered in New Documentary". Vanity Fair . Condé Nast . Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 WHITNEY - Altitude
  7. 1 2 Official Music Video Chart Top 50 | 4 November 2018 – 10 November 2018
  8. 1 2 "2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominations List". Grammy.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Whitney (2018) - Edinburgh International Film Festival
  10. 1 2 One moment in time: The making of Whitney By Stuart Kemp - 3 July 2018
  11. ↑ Adam Wiltzie Scoring Kevin Macdonald’s ‘Whitney’ Documentary - 1 March 2018 by filmmusicreporter in Film Scoring
  12. ↑ Whitney (2018) - Edinburgh International Film Festival
  13. ↑ Whitney (2018) British Film Institute, Film details
  14. ↑ ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS AND MIRAMAX TO RELEASE WHITNEY, IN THE U.S. ON 6 July 2018
  15. ↑ WHITNEY - Altitude Films - UK - Altitude - 6 July 2018, USA - Roadside Attractions - 6 July 2018, Australia/New Zealand - 26 July 2018
  16. ↑ Whitney - Cannes Film Festival.
  17. ↑ 'Whitney': The Soaring Life and Haunting Death of Whitney Houston - Variety
  18. ↑ Edinburgh International Film Festival Whitney Premiere
  19. ↑ Whitney - Sydney Film Festival
  20. ↑ Whitney - Official UK and IE Teaser Trailer - YouTube
  21. ↑ Whitney - Official Trailer, 25 May 2018
  22. ↑ WHITNEY’ Documentary - To Be Released Digitally & On DVD/Blu-ray October 2018
  23. ↑ "Whitney Blu-ray review". 28 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  24. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (8 July 2018). "'Ant-Man And The Wasp' Shrinks A Tick To $76M+ Opening, But Still 34% Bigger Than Original – Early Sunday Read". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Business Media . Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  25. ↑ BFI: Weekend 06-08 July 2018 - UK box office report
  26. 1 2 Whitney (2018) Box Office Mojo
  27. ↑ BFI: Weekend 13-15 July 2018 - UK box office report
  28. ↑ BFI: Weekend 28-30 September 2018 - UK box office report
  29. ↑ "Whitney (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  30. ↑ "Whitney Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  31. ↑ Whitney Review Empire online
  32. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (2018). "Film Review: 'Whitney'". Variety . Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  33. ↑ The 2018 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards - BEST DOCUMENTARY
  34. ↑ Award Winners | 72nd Edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
  35. ↑ Guild of Music Supervisors Awards: Complete Winners List – Variety
  36. ↑ 2019 NOMINEES | Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
  37. ↑ THE FAVOURITE LEADS NOMINEES FOR CC FILM AWARDS - 18 December 2018
  38. ↑ Irish Recorded Music Association - Press CHARTS, then Music DVD, scroll to - 16 November 2018
  39. ↑ Official Music Video Chart Top 50 - 4 November 2018 – 10 November 2018
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.