Miramax has acquired U.S. rights to Whitney, Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s forthcoming documentary about the career and life of singer Whitney Houston. Mirmax will partner with Roadside Attractions on theatrical release. Whitney is being produced by Lightbox Media’s Simon Chinn along with partner Jonathan Chinn and Lisa Erspamer, with Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall from Altitude Film Entertainment executive producing and handling international sales.
WME Global brokered the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
The filmmakers have been granted access by the Whitney Houston estate to an unprecedented archive of material and will feature interviews with friends, family and acquaintances of the singer, who died in 2012. The film will be the third joint release for Miramax and Roadside, with the companies previously collaborating on 2015’s Mr. Holmes and the upcoming Southside With You.
Along with the U.S., Miramax has also acquired rights for more than a dozen territories including Latin America, China, CIS, and Benelux. ARP has acquired rights in France, Wild Bunch is handling Germany, Italy and Spain, Bohemia is handling the Czech Republic, Kino Świat in Poland, 2i Film in the former Yugoslavia, NonStop Entertainment in Scandinavia and the Baltics, Tohokushinsha in Japan, Edko in Hong Kong, Pancinema in South Korea, CMC Entertainment in Taiwan, IPA Asia Pacific in Thailand, Transmission in Australia and New Zealand, Gulf in the Middle East, Bir Film in Turkey, and the previously announced Altitude Film Distribution handling release in the UK.
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