Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, the critically-acclaimed, award-winning, documentary on singer Dionne Warwick will be among the first films to premiere on CNN+, CNN’s streaming service debuting this spring. Produced, directed, and written by Dave Wooley, and directed by David Heilbroner, DIONNE WARWICK: Don’t Make Me Over is a deeply personal, intimate portrait of the velvet-voiced songstress. The film yields insights into Warwick’s rise to music superstardom from singing in her grandfather’s church, to her life beyond the lights standing up to discrimination in America and around the world.
Speaking on behalf of the filmmakers, Dave Wooley, said, “There have been many words to describe Dionne Warwick, however, for me, it comes down to one word: ‘genius.’” Wooley, who directed DIONNE WARWICK: Don’t Make Me Over with David Heilbroner, says his research for the film reveals Warwick as “a deeply ‘transformational leader.’ Her extraordinary voice is a gift that she uses for her art, and always also as an instrument for creating positive change, compassion, and social justice, wherever she is.”
Warwick became the very first solo African American female artist to win a Grammy® in contemporary vocal performance, for 1968’s “Do You Know The Way To San Jose.” The song became so ubiquitous, former President and musician Bill Clinton describes how it inspired a road trip for him. Dionne Warwick has earned six Grammy® Awards, with 14 nominations, to date.
Throughout the film, Warwick takes viewers on her own trip through time, sometimes narrating over archival footage, sometimes literally visiting and describing locations of key importance to her life and career. From East Orange, NJ, to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY, to the capitals of Europe, and back home again, the film includes rare interviews with those who know Warwick best: her two sons, Damon and David Elliott; Warwick’s aunt, Cissy Houston; and long-time collaborators, Burt Bacharach and Clive Davis. And, in an emotional archival interview, Whitney Houston reflects upon her appreciation for her cousin’s talent and mentorship.
Warwick’s grace, grit, and glamour shine through in contemporary exclusives with fellow music legends Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, Gladys Knight, Olivia Newton-John, Smokey Robinson, Carlos Santana, Valerie Simpson, and Stevie Wonder, who discussed what Warwick has meant to the industry, and the wider culture. Beyond admiring Warwick’s technical gifts, each artist hailed Warwick’s determined dignity, rising above, and despite racism within the music industry, in America, and around the world.
As music tastes and styles changed through the decades, Warwick’s style has also adapted and evolved. For her first debut single, which shares its title with that of the documentary, Warwick emerged from singing backup vocals to the spotlight as a soulful solo star. That single, “Don’t Make Me Over,” was inspired by Warwick’s reproach of producer Bacharach for reassigning a potential hit song to another artist. Warwick notes for the film how style advice from Marlene Dietrich helped her define her first world tour as a refined event showcase of her elegant early ballads. Recording “Alfie” and “Theme From Valley of the Dolls,” for movies further broadened her popular appeal. Still later, Bacharach, with Barry Gibb of the supergroup Bee Gees, describe how they worked with Warwick to develop the global chart-topper, “Heartbreaker,” ushering in yet another new chapter in her career.
As the AIDS era loomed, Sir Elton John and Kenneth Cole detailed how “That’s What Friends Are For,” came together as an iconic anthem urging love and compassion. Warwick, an early advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and empathy, was instrumental in bringing together a celebrated group of artists for a renowned recording session that has raised awareness, and millions, for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR).
In recent years, Warwick’s popularity has extended to a whole new generation of fans through her quippy commentary on Twitter, and her embrace of a series of affectionate impersonations on Saturday Night Live that even led to a surprise appearance on the late night comedy show.
The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received the Special Tribute Award and was first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for documentaries. The film later screened at San Francisco International Film Festival; DOC NYC; Montclair Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award for Non-Fiction Feature; and, Gene Siskel Film Center’s Black Harvest Film Festival, where it was honored as Best Feature Film.