CNN Sets Jan. 1 Premiere Date For CNN Films’ ‘Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over,’ Doc On Singer With “Grace, Grit, Singular Talent”
23.08.2022 - 19:29
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: CNN will be ringing in the New Year with a film on a music superstar.
CNN Films’ award-winning documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner, will premiere on CNN January 1, 2023 at 9 pm ET and PT, broadcast with limited commercial interruption.
Warwick got her start singing in gospel groups with family members in New Jersey, and became a pop music sensation when she teamed with the songwriting duo of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, beginning with the 1962 song “Don’t Make Me Over.”
“Ms. Warwick’s own velvet-toned voice largely tells the story of her music and life for the film,” CNN Films noted in a release, “underscoring her creative and cultural legacies during six decades of an extraordinary career. The film explores her stunning range of musical styles and versatility.”
CNN Films added, “Her career has soared despite dramatic upheaval within a fickle industry, and flourished through multigenerational social change. Along the way, Warwick has earned six Grammys, amassed an astonishing array of global solo and duet hits, and remains a stalwart advocate and ally for racial equality and justice, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.”
In addition to directing, Wooley wrote and produced the documentary.
“Working on Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over has been a true labor of love,” Wooley said in a statement. “We wanted to make a film that people wouldn’t just see…we wanted viewers to feel transported. This is the story of a transformational, global icon.”
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it earned first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for Documentaries and also earned Warwick a Special Tribute Award.