*When word hit that the Whitney Houston estate was producing its own documentary because it was not pleased with several others as they took hard, uncompromising looks at the late superstar, a lot of folks (including us) assumed that theirs would be a lot of fluff and puff and would deal with her drug issues.
Well, guess who was WRONG? The new documentary about Houston, Whitney,” bills itself as an “unflinching” look at the singer’s rise and fall, released its first trailer on Wednesday and it doesn’t hold back.
“There were times when I’d look up to God and I’d go, ‘Why is this happening to me?” she recalls in vintage footage.
From director Kevin Macdonald (“Marley”), “Whitney,” was executive produced by the Houston family and does not shy from the tragedy of the singer’s drug abuse, emotional woe and the dizzying highs of her journey.
“There were always a lot of secrets,” one Houston pal says in the new trailer. “If you don’t resolve and deal with things, they never go away.”
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Check out the trailer as it teases revelations about Houston’s longtime friend and assistant Robyn Crawford and the nature of their relationship. It also covers the depths Houston traveled to “lift up” her husband, Bobby Brown.
“Bobby was jealous,” an interviewee recalls. “He wanted to be on the stage; he wanted to be [at] the forefront. And eventually, she stepped down to lift him up.”
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The doc features sit-downs with interviews with the man credited with discovering her and building her career, Clive Davis as well as former Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid who touches on the struggle of supporting Houston’s extraordinary talent in the face of widely-reported drug use.
“I never knew there was any addiction,” Reid says in the clip (check out the expression on his face during as he’s saying those words). To be honest, it’s impossible to believe that L.A Reid, of all people, didn’t know about Whitney’s drug use. But, whatever.
Meanwhile, you’ll also find nods to her hit film and blockbuster soundtrack for “The Bodyguard,” as well as her iconic performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV.
And as far as that Pauld Abdul diss in the headline, here’s what that’s all about:
“Paula Abdul ain’t shit,” Houston complains in one scene. “That girl is singing off-key on the record.”
The film premieres in Cannes tonight, Wednesday night. You can check it out the Miramax and Roadside Attractions in theaters (in North America) starting July 6.
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