Behind the Scenes of the 1990s Cult Film The Bodyguard: The Other Side of Whitney Houston's Glory

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This film is traditionally called one of the best Hollywood melodramas. 27 years have passed since its filming, the leading performer, the famous singer Whitney Houston, has not been among the living for 7 years, but "The Bodyguard" still does not lose its popularity and remains in the status of a cult cinema of the 1990s. Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston on the screens looked like an ideal couple, but in real life they had completely different passions then, and for the singer it ended in real disaster …

Laurence Kasdan wrote the screenplay about the black singer and her bodyguard back in the mid-1970s. The main roles were intended for the pop diva Diana Ross and Steve McQueen, but the latter refused to shoot. In 1979, Ryan O'Neal was offered the role of bodyguard, but due to the strained relationship with Diana Ross, he also did not want to act. This project was forgotten - until Kevin Costner decided to take up it. He became a co-producer of the film and agreed to play the male lead.

The search for the main character continued for a long time - Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Janet Jackson and several other actresses claimed the role of singer Rachel Marron. Kevin Costner insisted that this role be given to Whitney Houston, whose candidacy caused the most controversy - she had no experience in cinema at that time, the debutante was lost on the set and in many scenes looked unconvincing, which is why several episodes eventually had to be cut, but Costner stood his ground.

When work on the film was in full swing, filming had to be suspended for several weeks. The fact is that Whitney Houston, who was preparing for the wedding with Bobby Brown, was pregnant, and during the filming she had a miscarriage due to severe nervous tension.

The song that became the hallmark of the film "The Bodyguard" and of Whitney Houston herself - "I Will Always Love You" - was written long before filming. Country singer Dolly Parton became its author back in 1974. Even Elvis Presley wanted to buy the rights to this song from her, but she refused him. After this composition was performed in "The Bodyguard" performed by Whitney Houston, it became world famous and brought both the singer and the songwriter a lot of money - Dolly Parton received at least $ 6 million in royalties. Interestingly, since then in America "I Will Always Love You" has become the most popular wedding song, and in England it was most often played at funerals. This composition was called the best-selling soundtrack of all time.

When the film was released, the reaction of film critics and ordinary viewers was exactly the opposite: the professionals smashed "The Bodyguard" to smithereens, criticizing both Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, who received the Golden Raspberry anti-prize for this role as "Worst Actress" (her awarded for the most dubious achievements in the film industry). The New York Times wrote: "". The Washington Post called "The Bodyguard".

But the audience accepted the film with a bang, recognizing it as one of the best melodramas in the history of Hollywood. Whitney Houston's popularity as a singer took off after the release of The Bodyguard. The film paid off three times at the box office - with a budget of $ 40 million in the United States, it raised $ 120 million, at the worldwide box office - more than $ 410 million. The film's incredible success surprised even screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who confessed, "".

Oddly enough, world fame turned into a personal tragedy for the singer. Her relationship with Bobby Brown, which had been difficult before, became more complicated after the release of "Bodyguard". Later in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, after her divorce from Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston admitted: "".

But this did not save the singer from beatings and scandals, which led to severe alcohol and drug addiction. So, ironically, the film, which became her film debut and the start of a dizzying artistic career, was at the same time the beginning of the end.

On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills hotel. There were traces of cocaine, marijuana and sedatives in her blood: What led the singer to a tragic ending.