Whitney (2018 film)
Whitney | |
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Directed by | Kevin Macdonald |
Written by | Kevin Macdonald |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Nelson Hume |
Edited by | Sam Rice-Edwards |
Music by | Adam Wiltzie |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Box office | $4.7 million[2] |
Whitney is a 2018
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
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]
- "How Will I Know" performed by Whitney Houston
- "Here I Am (Take Me)" The Sweet Inspirations
- "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin
- "Walk On By" Performed by Dionne Warwick
- "When Love Slips Away" Performed by Dee Dee Warwick
- "Theme from Valley of the Dolls" Performed by Whitney Houston
- "When I First Saw You" Performed by Cissy Houston
- "The Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston
- "I Am Changing" by Whitney Houston
- "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" & (Acappella) by Whitney Houston
- "Home" by Whitney Houston
- "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston
- "This Day" by Whitney Houston
- "Ain't It Funky Now" Performed by James Brown
- "I'm Your Baby Tonight" by Whitney Houston
- "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
- "I Will Always Love You" 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
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
Awards and nominations
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result |
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Grammy Award
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10 February 2019 | Best Music Film | Whitney | Nominated[8] |
Detroit Film Critics Society | 3 December 2018 | Best Documentary | Whitney | Nominated[33] |
Edinburgh Film Festival | 28 June 2018 | Best Documentary Feature Film | Whitney | Won[34] |
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards | 13 February 2019 | Best Music Supervision for a Documentary | Bree Winwood and Gary Welch - Whitney | Nominated[35][36] |
Critics' Circle Film Awards | 20 January 2019 | Documentary of the Year | Whitney | Nominated[37] |
Charts
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
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Irish Music DVD Chart (IRMA) | 3[38] |
UK Official Music Video Chart (OCC )
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1[39] |
See also
References
- ^ a b Academy Award-Winner Kevin Macdonald To Direct Official Whitney Houston Documentary - 28 April 2016
- ^ "Whitney (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ WHITNEY - Festival de Cannes
- ^ Rooney, David (16 May 2018). "'Whitney': Film Review Cannes 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ Miller, Julie (16 May 2018). "Whitney Houston's Dark Family Secret Uncovered in New Documentary". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ a b WHITNEY - Altitude
- ^ a b Official Music Video Chart Top 50 | 4 November 2018 – 10 November 2018
- ^ a b "2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominations List". Grammy.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d Whitney (2018) - Edinburgh International Film Festival
- ^ a b One moment in time: The making of Whitney By Stuart Kemp - 3 July 2018
- ^ Adam Wiltzie Scoring Kevin Macdonald’s ‘Whitney’ Documentary - 1 March 2018 by filmmusicreporter in Film Scoring
- ^ Whitney (2018) - Edinburgh International Film Festival
- ^ Whitney (2018) British Film Institute, Film details
- ^ ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS AND MIRAMAX TO RELEASE WHITNEY, IN THE U.S. ON 6 July 2018
- ^ WHITNEY - Altitude Films - UK - Altitude - 6 July 2018, USA - Roadside Attractions - 6 July 2018, Australia/New Zealand - 26 July 2018
- ^ Whitney - Cannes Film Festival.
- ^ 'Whitney': The Soaring Life and Haunting Death of Whitney Houston - Variety
- ^ Edinburgh International Film Festival Whitney Premiere
- ^ Whitney - Sydney Film Festival
- ^ Whitney - Official UK and IE Teaser Trailer - YouTube
- ^ Whitney - Official Trailer, 25 May 2018
- ^ WHITNEY’ Documentary - To Be Released Digitally & On DVD/Blu-ray October 2018
- ^ "Whitney Blu-ray review". 28 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Penske Business Media. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ BFI: Weekend 06-08 July 2018 - UK box office report
- ^ a b Whitney (2018) Box Office Mojo
- ^ BFI: Weekend 13-15 July 2018 - UK box office report
- ^ BFI: Weekend 28-30 September 2018 - UK box office report
- ^ "Whitney (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ Whitney Review Empire online
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (2018). "Film Review: 'Whitney'". Variety. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ The 2018 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards - BEST DOCUMENTARY
- ^ Award Winners | 72nd Edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
- ^ Guild of Music Supervisors Awards: Complete Winners List – Variety
- ^ 2019 NOMINEES | Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
- ^ THE FAVOURITE LEADS NOMINEES FOR CC FILM AWARDS - 18 December 2018
- ^ Irish Recorded Music Association - Press CHARTS, then Music DVD, scroll to - 16 November 2018
- ^ Official Music Video Chart Top 50 - 4 November 2018 – 10 November 2018
External links
- Official website
- Whitney at IMDb
- Whitney at the better source needed]
- Whitney at Rotten Tomatoes
- Whitney at Metacritic
- Whitney at Box Office Mojo