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Whitney (2015 film)

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Whitney
GenreBiographical drama
Based onWhitney Houston and
Bobby Brown
Written byShem Bitterman
Directed byAngela Bassett
StarringYaya DaCosta
Arlen Escarpeta
Yolonda Ross
Suzzanne Douglas
Theme music composerRedOne
Wuff
Dan Sundquist
Travon Potts
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersLarry Sanitsky
Kyle A. Clark
Lina Wong
CinematographyAnastas N. Michos
EditorRichard Comeau
Running time88 mins
Production companiesSanitsky Company
SilverScreen Pictures
Original release
NetworkLifetime
ReleaseJanuary 17, 2015 (2015-01-17)

Whitney is a 2015 American biographical film directed by Angela Bassett based on American singer Whitney Houston (Yaya DaCosta) and her turbulent marriage to R&B artist Bobby Brown (Arlen Escarpeta) that premiered on Lifetime in North America on January 17, 2015.[1] Whitney received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with DaCosta's performance as Houston and Bassett's direction being praised but Escarpeta's casting and the film's accuracy being criticized. Bassett was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film and at the Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Director in a Television Miniseries or Movie.[2]

The movie stars Yaya DaCosta as Houston, Arlen Escarpeta as Brown and Yolonda Ross as Houston's longtime friend and road manager Robyn Crawford. Whitney is set in a period of five years (1989–1994) when Houston was catapulted to worldwide success due to her film debut The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack. Filming lasted 20 days, primarily occurring in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California.

Canadian R&B singer Deborah Cox performs all of Houston's vocals in the film, including "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Your Baby Tonight", "I'm Every Woman", "Jesus Loves Me" and "The Greatest Love of All". Additionally, songwriting/production team The Jackie Boyz performed Brown's vocals for "Every Little Step" in the Soul Train Awards scene.

Synopsis

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In 1989, Whitney Houston (Yaya DaCosta) is a worldwide phenomenon and household name with two highly successful self-titled albums under her belt. She attends the 3rd Annual Soul Train Awards with her high school friend and road manager Robyn Crawford (Yolonda Ross), who is a lesbian. During a category in which Houston's name is booed by the audience, she later performs at the ceremony. It is here that she meets fellow R&B singer Bobby Brown and they begin a courtship shortly after, due to her being impressed with Brown's performance of "Every Little Step". In August 1989, Whitney invites Bobby to her lavish 26th birthday celebration, where Bobby discovers her abusing cocaine.

Whitney begins recording her third album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), the relationship between her and Brown continues to blossom consistently, leading to a sexual relationship between the two. Unbeknownst to her, Brown is in a relationship with his girlfriend Kim, who had just given birth to his daughter. Just as Houston discovers this, she is left heartbroken and infuriated. Bobby later severs ties with Kim, and Whitney later manages to pull through and persevere in the already hectic relationship. Sometime later, Brown is unable to replicate the success of his album Don't Be Cruel, as his record label wants him to record a greatest hits compilation.

Whitney and Bobby continue to date for a number of years, with Brown proposing to her by late 1991, and the two are married by the summer of 1992. Around this time, Kevin Costner handpicks Houston to star in what will become her film debut The Bodyguard. Though she is initially reluctant, Bobby encourages her to proceed. While on the set of The Bodyguard, Houston suffers a miscarriage, causing her to become very sickly. Cissy visits and persuades Whitney to leave Bobby, but Whitney refuses.

Whitney struggles to keep up with fame and placate Bobby, whose career has taken a back seat to hers, as she continues to dabble with drug use after their daughter Bobbi Kristina is born. Soon after, The Bodyguard and its subsequent soundtrack becomes massively successful, leading Whitney to tour internationally for nearly two years.

The pressure continues to grow for both Whitney and Bobby, primarily Whitney, who continues to abuse drugs at the height of her stardom. Bobby deals with his situation similarly after losing his childhood friend Steve in gun violence.

Cast

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Critical reception

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Whitney has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and holds a 62% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[3] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 54%, based on 17 reviews.[4]

Whitney received a total of 4.5 million viewers during its premiere.[5]

Accolades

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Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Black Reel Awards Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Limited Series Angela Bassett Nominated [6]
Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series Yaya DaCosta Nominated
Directors Guild of America Awards, USA Outstanding Directing in Miniseries or TV Film Angela Bassett Nominated [7]
Imagen Awards Best Primetime Program: Special or Made-for-TV-Movie Whitney Nominated [8]
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Best Contemporary Makeup Marietta Carter-Narcisse and Noreen Wilkie Nominated [9]
Best Contemporary Hair Styling Emanuel Millar and Rhonda O'Neal Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture, Television Shem Bitterman Nominated [10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "First-Time Director Angela Bassett Defends Her Whitney Houston Biopic - ABC News". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  2. ^ Hipes, Patrick (January 13, 2016). "DGA Awards Nominations Set For TV & Documentaries". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "Whitney". Rotten Tomatoes.
  4. ^ "Whitney (2015)". Metacritic.
  5. ^ Blas, Lorena (2015-01-19). "Lifetime's 'Whitney' lures 4.5 million viewers". USAToday. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  6. ^ "16th Annual Black Reel Award Nominations". Archived from the original on 2016-10-16. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  7. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (January 12, 2016). "Alejandro G. Inarritu, Tom McCarthy, Adam McKay, George Miller, Ridley Scott Land DGA Nominations". Variety. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Lowe, Kinsey (August 22, 2015). "'McFarland, USA', George Lopez & Zoe Saldana Win At Imagen Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (February 2, 2016). "Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards: The Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  10. ^ "47th NAACP Image Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 4, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
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