''Whitney'' is a 2018

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the American singer and actress

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

. 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 A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

as part of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2018 with a cinema release on 6 July 2018. The film was also released on

home media Home media refers to media used for recording, copying, delivery, and playback of various types of entertainment and information in the home. Forms of home media include: * Home audio * Home video * Magnetic tape * Phonograph record * Home comput ...

where it debuted at number one on the UK Official Music Video Chart.Official Music Video Chart
Top 50 , 4 November 2018 – 10 November 2018 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 The Grammy Award for Best Music Film is an annual accolade for performers, directors, and producers of quality videos or musical programs. It is presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 when it was called the Gramophone Aw ...

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 Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

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.”Whitney
(2018) - Edinburgh International Film Festival

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 A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task. It is a subspecialty of secretarial duties ...

, Houston’s older brothers Michael and Gary and other members of the Houston family. Houston’s mother Cissy was interviewed in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, others were conducted in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. 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 YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

with Sam Dwyer as archive producer. Private footage was gathered from all over the world including Japan, the Netherlands and Los Angeles.One moment in time:
The making of Whitney By Stuart Kemp - 3 July 2018

Post-production

A substantial amount of the

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

, including changing screen size, and

frame rate Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...

was done at Molinare, a post-production company in London’s

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Music

Composer Adam Wiltzie was in charge of the film's music and score. Some excerpt examples used in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the film: *" How Will I Know" performed by Whitney Houston *"Here I Am (Take Me)"

The Sweet Inspirations The Sweet Inspirations are an American R&B girl group from Newark, New Jersey, founded by Cissy Houston who are mostly known for their work as backup singers on studio recordings for other R&B and rock artists but who are also a Grammy-nominat ...

*" Chain of Fools" by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

*" Walk On By" Performed by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

*"When Love Slips Away" Performed by

Dee Dee Warwick Delia Juanita Warrick (September 25, 1942 – October 18, 2008), known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, a ...

*" Theme from Valley of the Dolls" Performed by Whitney Houston *"When I First Saw You" Performed by Cissy Houston *"

The Greatest Love of All "The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on t ...

" by Whitney Houston *" I Am Changing" by Whitney Houston *" I Wanna Dance with Somebody" & (Acappella) by Whitney Houston *"

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

" by Whitney Houston *" So Emotional" by Whitney Houston *"This Day" by Whitney Houston *"Ain't It Funky Now" Performed by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

*" I'm Your Baby Tonight" by Whitney Houston *" I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston *"

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career ...

" by Whitney Houston *" I Love the Lord" by Whitney Houston

Release

The film is a joint British-American venture produced by Lisa Erspamer Entertainment and Lightbox, with

Roadside Attractions Roadside Attractions, LLC is an American independent production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff. Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (spelled as Lions ...

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

and Altitude Film Distribution serving as distributors.Academy Award-Winner Kevin Macdonald To Direct Official Whitney Houston Documentary
- 28 April 2016WHITNEY
- Altitude It is also presented in association with Altitude Film Entertainment. ''Whitney'' was released in cinemas in the United States, United Kingdom and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 6 July 2018, by (UK) Altitude and (US) Roadside Attractions. It was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on 26 July 2018. The world premiere for the film was on 16 May 2018 at the Cannes Film Festival. Screenings also took place at the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

Marketing

The official

teaser trailer A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...

for the UK and Ireland was released by Altitude Films on 5 April 2018 on

with the full trailer released on 25 May 2018.

Home media

It was released in

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

by digital download on 2 October and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on 16 October 2018. The DVD and Blu-ray releases include

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

from producer Simon Chinn and director Kevin Macdonald, photo gallery and theatrical trailer. 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.

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. 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.Whitney (2018)

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ...

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. Over 13 weeks it grossed a total of £459,725.

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "''Whitney'' shifts from soaring highs to heartbreaking lows with palpable emotion and grace befitting its singular subject." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Terri White for ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' 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."Whitney Review
Empire online

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

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."

Awards and nominations

Charts

References

External links

* *
''Whitney''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney 2018 films 2018 documentary films American musical documentary films Documentary films about African Americans Documentary films about women in music Documentary films about singers Films directed by Kevin Macdonald (director) Whitney Houston 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s British films British musical documentary films English-language documentary films