Everyone thinks they know the whole story but this really is Whitney as you have never seen her before.
The star is shown at her most vulnerable and human as she says: “People think it’s so damned easy… But it’s not.”
The teaser end with the heartbreaking sight of Whitney in a bath robe curled up like a child in the lap of her mother, Cissy Houston. Cissy tries to comfort her and says: “It will be alright baby.”
The sad reality was that it wouldn’t and never would be, culminating in the star’s death in a hotel bathtub in 2012, aged just 48.
How did someone who had so much end up like that? This officially sanctioned movie, the first ever, promises to reveal the truth.
This major new movie had unprecedented access to the Houston family’s private video archives, with personal home movie footage that has never been seen publicly before, offering a rare glimpse of Whitney’s life behind-the-scenes as known only to her closest relatives, friends and collaborators.
Written and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, it is the only film officially supported by the late singer’s estate.
Fans will finally be able to view previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances recorded by Houston at various stages her life, as well as original studio recordings and acapellas of some of the late singer’s greatest hits.
Macdonald says: “I approached Whitney’s life like a mystery story – why did someone with so much raw talent and beauty self-destruct so publicly and painfully?
“I was lucky enough to have the support of Patricia Houston and the Whitney Houston estate in this quest. They entrusted me with the ‘keys to the vault’ while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went.
“At its heart, WHITNEY is an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew.”
Patricia Houston was the late singer’s manager, sister-in-law and is now the executor of Houston’s estate.
She says; “To tell Whitney’s story, you have to know her story.
”This is an amazing retrospective that celebrates Whitney with never-before-seen footage and Kevin approaches her life with no blinders on. He captures all of Whitney’s magic and while he is doing this with the family’s blessing, he does not ignore the sorrow. This is a film that will truly thrill all who knew and loved her as a musician, actress, model and so much more.”
WHITNEY IS OUT IN UK & IRISH CINEMAS FROM JULY 6
