Known for her velvet-toned voice and unforgettable hits like “That’s What Friends Are For,” six-time Grammy winner Dionne Warwick is one of the greatest female singers.
The CNN Film Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over chronicles her six-decade-long career in both music and activism. The portrait of the legend features an all-star lineup, including former president Bill Clinton, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Gladys Knight, Elton John, Snoop Dogg and Smokey Robinson.
The award-winning documentary was co-directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner.
“Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner have created a beautiful tribute that shows the enduring impact of Dionne Warwick. Her trailblazing, humanitarian legacy extends beyond her exquisite songbook, and she’s had a lasting cultural influence,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, on behalf of CNN Films.
We asked Oscar-nominated director Heilbroner to write an exclusive letter for our Keep Watching audience about what it was like working with the musical icon to make the documentary.
Here's what he wrote:
There’s nothing quite like waking up at 5 in the morning during a film shoot, heading down to an anonymous hotel lobby for some watery coffee, and suddenly spotting a bright-eyed, 79-year-old Dionne Warwick, perfectly dressed and turned out for the day, sitting at a small table all on her own. When that happened, I asked the iconic superstar, “Do you have an early flight?” She laughed and said, "I am always up by 5.”
Looking back, this moment represents so many things I learned about the iconic singer during the year of making Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over with Dionne’s longstanding business partner and my co-director Dave Wooley. No spoiled superstar, Dionne, I discovered, is self-reliant, tireless, disciplined, and utterly no-nonsense. What a relief in an age of tantrum-throwing, ego-driven artists.
She was also unexpectedly modest, even with all her regal self-possession. It came as a real revelation that Dionne had been a close ally of Presidents Kennedy, Bush, Reagan and Clinton in pursuing world health initiatives. She was a pioneer in combatting misogyny in rap lyrics. She had donated millions to AIDS through her massive hit “That’s What Friends Are For.” And yet, try and find any self-swerving interviews or posts.
This explains why every request for an interview from our star-studded cast was met with a resounding yes. Dionne left everyone in her circle with a sense that she was about something larger than herself. All my co-director Dave and I had to do were live up to that standard. Whew!
