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Apr 28, 2016 Kevin Macdonald By Christopher Roberts

Deadline reports that Scottish director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Black Sea) will be directing a documentary on the late Whitney Houston. It’s described as an “official” documentary, as it has Houston’s estate’s blessing to, as Deadline puts it, “tell the unvarnished and authentic story of the singer’s life.” Simon Chinn, who was behind the Oscar-winning documentaries “Searching for Sugarman” and “Man on Wire,” is producing. Altitude, the production company who made last year’s acclaimed Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, is also involved.

The film is due out in 2017 and they have already lined up an interview with Clive Davis, founder and president of Arista Records and current CCO of Sony Music Entertainment, who helped launch Houston’s career. Although Macdonald is well known for his narrative features, he also won the Best Documentary Oscar for 1999’s Storyville: One Day In September and has helmed documentaries on Bob Marley (2012’s Marley) and Mick Jagger (2001’s Being Mick). A competing documentary on Houston is also in the works from Showtime and Kurt & Courtney director Nick Broomfield.

Houston became a musical icon in the 1980s with scores of hits to her name and over 200 million album sales worldwide. She also dabbled in acting, starring in such films as The Bodyguard and The Preacher’s Wife. Alas, she also battled addiction and was found dead in 2012, drowned in a bathtub in the Beverly Hilton Hotel in part because of cocaine use. She was only 48.

As reported earlier, Macdonald is also working on a sci-fi TV series, Strange New Things, that will likely stream of Amazon and for which Brian Eno is providing the score.