{"id":83682,"date":"2018-07-04T08:11:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T08:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2018\/07\/04\/speaking-with-director-kevin-macdonald-pat-houston-on-the-emotion-doc-whitney\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T01:44:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T01:44:50","slug":"speaking-with-director-kevin-macdonald-pat-houston-on-the-emotion-doc-whitney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/speaking-with-director-kevin-macdonald-pat-houston-on-the-emotion-doc-whitney\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking With Director Kevin Macdonald & Pat Houston On The Emotion Doc ‘Whitney’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking With Director Kevin Macdonald & Pat Houston On The Emotion Doc ‘Whitney’<\/strong>Posted by Dominga Martin<\/p>\n

July 3, 2018<\/p>\n

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The Explosive documentary “Whitney” spills tea on private life of icon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oscar winning director Kevin Macdonald<\/strong> (The Last King of Scotland) gets right to it, and holds no punches when it comes to shedding light on alluded rumors about the legendary star we all know as Whitney Houston<\/strong>. Privately, however, family and her tight inner circle know her as \u201cNippy.\u201d Kevin Macdonald takes us into the private world of \u201cNippy”, and I found myself wondering \u2014 did anyone need this much access to Whitney\u2019s confidential archives?<\/p>\n

What do we know about Whitney Houston, aside from the fact that she is one of the greatest vocalists of all time, in addition to being tabloid fodder, toward her later years? The tabloids dug and tried their best to reveal rumors that were debunked. Whitney Houston had a team that kept her personal life private \u2014 as it should be, even after death. This documentary feels like a curious seeker, digging through archival footage, looking for the big boom \u2014 everything is revealed. This expose takes viewers on the journey of a tragic story of a star who reaches the highest of heights and falls, with no one to catch her.<\/p>\n

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In an exclusive interview with Pat Houston, she was very candid, stating: \u201cWhitney would be the first one to tell you to \u2018mind your business.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that is the truth,<\/p>\n

Although editorial control was relinquished to the director, it is important to point out that Macdonold was not a mega fan of Whitney Houston, originally from Scotland \u2014 I would presume. he did not have Whitney\u2019s first album on heavy rotation, he was not with us as we held our breath in \u201cThe Bodyguard\u201d and he did not know how monumental the \u201cStar Spangled Banner\u201d (Whitney\u2019s version) was, for the culture. He was hired for his credentials \u2014 an expert in his field, who could dig through crates (so to speak) and find a story. Yet, even he admits that it was hard to find Whitney\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was hard to find material that really felt like, \u201cAh!\u201d That\u2019s the real \u201cher” and she’s letting me in,\u201d<\/strong> says the Macdonald, and continues, \u201cI would literally go through 1000\u2019s of hours of footage to find those moments, and to find rare interviews that hadn’t ever been heard before [and] there’s a few of those scattered throughout the film.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whitney is one of the last superstars who came up in the machine \u2014 who understood the dynamic of a personal life vs. a public life. Who’s PR was scripted, and an image carefully manufactured. She was no reality TV star (famous for being famous) or putting on her life for \u201cthe gram\u201d, she was a true, naturally gifted talent who knew how to separate her public life from her personal one.<\/p>\n

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This documentary juxtaposes the life of Whitney Houston, the megastar, rising quick and furious in America\u2019s pop culture scene, with the backdrop of what made her human \u2014 the riots in Newark, drugs at 16, sex abuse and hidden family secrets. It\u2019s very telling, raw and unflinching, Yet, there is a difference between alluding to a rumor, and confirming. WHITNEY, confirms a lot of rumors fans and tabloids often tried to expose, and I can\u2019t help but ask myself if any of this is our business? We already know what Whitney would say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhitney would\u2019ve depended on me to do what is right, and she always did,\u201d<\/strong> says Pat. \u201cThere was a trust factor there. You know, you don’t give a person the keys to the vault and tell them not to look in it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Macdonald interviewed almost 100 people to get to the heart of Whitney, and states many family members, including ex-husband, Bobby Brown were very hesitant with the truth, however, watching the documentary, it appeared as if Bobby was the only one still protecting her image and her memory \u2014 while family members and past employees seemed as if they were waiting to exhale and reveal secrets that were not theirs to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is protecting Whitney now. I think they\u2019re protecting themselves. I interviewed 70 people for this. I\u2019ve never interviewed 70 people of any film and I\u2019ve done so many films, and so many of them were very economical with the truth. So many of them just wanted to give me the usual puff kind of stuff, and I kept saying to them, \u2018that\u2019s not enough.\u2019 We heard that.\u201d<\/strong> He states, and continues. \u201cIn order for us to really understand Whitney and therefore feel more compassion for her, you need to be honest.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Robyn Crawford, who chose not to be part of the documentary (because she\u2019s writing her book) could not defend the long time whispers of their \u201crelationship\u201d which is front and center. A relative reveals he gave Whitney cocaine for her 16th birthday \u2014 clearing Bobby Brown of the rumors that he introduced her to drugs. The most tragic family secret, which Whitney never revealed when she was alive, was the secret that she and her brother Gary (Pat\u2019s Husband) was molested by a family member.<\/p>\n

There also was not much input about Whitney and Bobby Brown\u2019s late daughter, Bobbi Kristina who\u2019s love for her parents were evident, and vice versa. However, Pat makes a strong statement in the film which can be taken out of context, re: Bobbi Kristina wishing she could kill her mother without anyone knowing. Since Bobbi Kristina is no longer with us to defend herself, Pat offered context behind the statement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWell, when you go through as much as she has gone through, any kid would say somethings to you \u2014 a lot of kids would tell their parents, in a split second \u201cI hate you!\u201d but not mean it. She was going through a tough time, I think, when that was spoken. Her parents had just gotten divorced. It was difficult for her mother to have to deal with. She was just lashing out and who could blame her?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are so many layers to Whitney \u2014 and while this documentary seems extremely long before it finds it\u2019s story, it is unlike the 2017 documentary \u201cWhitney: Can I Be Me?\u201d (Directed by Nick Broomfield) which seems to take viewers on an investigative journey from stardom to death.<\/p>\n

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In this particular film, the beauty is found in the audacity of a young black girl from the hood, who rises to pop stardom, where everyone across the world knows her name, but no one ever really knew her. We are taken on a musical journey through her number one hits as she skyrockets to the top of the world\u2019s music charts, only to be ostracized in her own community. A big reveal was how the very vocal Reverend Al Sharpton referred to her as \u201cWhitey Whitney\u201d and launched an anti-blackness campaign against her \u2014 the nerve.<\/p>\n

Whitney\u2019s highs and lows were monumental, yet despite rumors, and accusations of a failed and tumultuous marriage, no one can ever tell this story in the way that Whitney can \u2014 and if she wanted the story told, it would have been told, with her daughter Bobbi Kristina, and those who loved her most \u2014 who cared to protect her legacy. In the end, this is a tragic Hollywood story and viewers are left feeling full on the memories, and memories are all that\u2019s left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the thing with Whitney is that, she\u2019s enigmatic. She\u2019s kind of unknowable, and I think you understand by the end of the film why that is, because I think she was very confused about who she was,\u201d<\/strong> says Macdonold. \u201cAnd maybe you can even say, she never knew who she was.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n