Whitney Houston fans will soon be treated to “an intimate, unflinching portrait” of the legendary pop diva, who died in 2012, in a new estate-approved documentary.
“Whitney,” which hits theaters this summer, “probes beyond familiar tabloid headlines and sheds new light on the spellbinding trajectory of Houston’s life,” according to a press release sent to HuffPost. (Catch a sneak peek of the film in the trailer above.)
“Using never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive demo recordings, rare performances, audio archives and original interviews with the people who knew her best, Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald unravels the mystery behind ‘The Voice,’ who thrilled millions even as she struggled to make peace with her own troubled past,” the release says.
Macdonald, whose credits include 2006’s “The Last King of Scotland,” told Rolling Stone that “Whitney” is “an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew.”
“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 Pat Houston and the Whitney Houston estate in this quest,” he said. “They entrusted me with the ‘keys to the vault’ while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went.”
“Whitney” follows an unauthorized documentary, “Whitney: Can I Be Me.” That film, directed by Nick Broomfield, sparked controversy for appearing to confirm longstanding rumors about Houston’s bisexuality by implying she was in a romantic relationship with her childhood friend Robyn Crawford.
Houston’s family, however, denounced “Whitney: Can I Be Me,” which debuted on Showtime last year.
“Whitney” hits theaters July 6.
