The Bodyguard
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| The Bodyguard | |
|---|---|
| Image:TheBodyguardDVD.jpg DVD cover of The Bodyguard | |
| Directed by | Mick Jackson |
| Produced by | Kevin Costner Lawrence Kasdan Jim Wilson |
| Written by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Starring | Kevin Costner Whitney Houston Gary Kemp Christopher Birt |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 25 1992 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 130 min. |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | Domestic: $121,945,720[1] Worldwide: $410,945,720 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Bodyguard is a 1992 film directed by Mick Jackson, with a script by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
In her film debut, Whitney Houston plays Rachel Marron, a famed music/movie superstar. One of her fans desires to kill her; therefore Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner), a professional bodyguard, is hired to protect her.
The film then follows Rachel Marron's life from performance to performance. Each performance features her singing a song (including Houston's hits "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing") that reflects her emotional state. Frank Farmer successfully protects her from all danger. Subsequently, and possibly as a result of his protection and the trust thus inspired, Rachel Marron becomes infatuated with him, and thus, sleeps with him. However, despite her attempts to fulfill this infatuation, Frank Farmer leaves her as soon as the danger to her has ceased, arguing that his duty to her is complete.
[edit] Reception and awards
The film is one of the top 100 grossing films of all time, grossing 410.9 million dollars at the worldwide box office, though it never made the number 1 spot at the U.S. box office. It is currently ranked #87 on the IMDb's World-Wide box-office. Shortly after its release it became the 10th highest grossing movie of all-time.
The film was nominated for 2 Academy Awards both in the "Best Original Song" category, but both lost out to the Disney film Aladdin. The film however did win at other awards. It won a BRIT Award for "Best Soundtrack", an MTV Movie Award for "Best Movie" and "Best Movie Song".
Despite the film's success, it was even nominated for 5 Razzie Awards which include Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Costner), Worst Actress (Houston), Worst Screenplay and Worst Song ("Queen of the Night"). It didn't receive any of them.
[edit] Background
The film was originally proposed in 1976 with Steve McQueen and Diana Ross in the leads. After McQueen fell ill with cancer it was proposed again in 1979, starring Ryan O'Neal and Ross again in the leads. The project fell through due to irreconcilable differences in the relationship of the two stars. Costner stated that he based Frank Farmer on Steve McQueen; even cutting his hair like McQueen.
Madonna was considered for the role of Rachel. The deal was called off informally during an incident captured in her documentary Truth or Dare. This took place during the scene where Madonna met with Costner, him congratulating on her tour performance rather ironically, calling her show neat and, as a consequence, her scorning at him on his way out by gesturing she is about to throw up.
During recording of the song "I Will Always Love You", there was some difficulty arranging the cover until someone suggested that Whitney Houston sing the first verse without instrumental backing, and that version became the one used in the film.
Originally, the song that Rachel performs at the end of the film was meant to be "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", which was originally sung by Jimmy Ruffin. However, shortly before Whitney Houston was to record her version of the song, it was released by Paul Young for the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. It was then quickly decided that the song Rachel would sing would be Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" (supposedly at the suggestion of Costner, believing that the song would suit Houston's voice). The original song "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" remains as Rachel's song for Frank in the novelization of the movie.
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film is one of the best selling soundtracks of all time. The Bodyguard soundtrack sold over 17 million copies sold in North America[2] and 38 million worldwide. Houston's cover version of "I Will Always Love You" is the most successful cover tune ever (the song was written and originally performed by Dolly Parton).
[edit] Trivia
| Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- During filming of the end scene (Whitney Houston running to Kevin Costner and kissing him), the camera was to follow a track, transfer to circular track and continually circle around Costner and Houston while they kissed. The first time they filmed it, the camera man was flung off by the force of the camera as it spun around. The camera man got back up, ran to catch up with the camera (which was still filming) and got back on it again. This shot was used in the film.
- The mansion used as Rachel Marron's home is the same mansion used in the infamous "Horse Head" scene in The Godfather.
- During the climax of the film, at the fictional Academy Awards there are multiple "winners" announced. These include 'Best Sound' which went to Mychal Smith and Kay Colvin who were actually the boom operator and cable person working on the film. The 'Best Song' winners writer is named as Nancy Garber who in truth was the film's art department researcher, and one of the fictional nominated songwriters is called Leslie Moraes who in actuality was the film's assistant location manager.
- It was rumoured for a long time that Princess Diana was in talks to star as the lead female role in a sequel to The Bodyguard [3]. It was set to star Kevin Costner again as Frank Farmer. However the film never got past the final draft stage, as Diana was killed in a car crash before the film could progress any further. More recently Costner was interviewed saying he was still interested in making a sequel[4].
[edit] Parodies
Ever since its debut, The Bodyguard has been the target for sarcasm and parody in popular culture. The movie and its soundtrack are referred to in these shows:
- The Simpsons - in the episode Mayored to the Mob, Homer Simpson receives bodyguard training from an instructor singing I Will Always Love You after graduating his class. Also in the episode, Mark Hamill gets carried by Homer in a fashion which parodies the way Kevin Costner carries Whitney Houston in the movie.
- 30 Rock - in the episode Hard Ball, Kenneth joins Tracy's entourage as a singer with whom to harmonize. Near the end of the show when a mob is protesting in front of the GE building, Tracy cannot escape; therefore Grizz and DotCom wrestle through the mob and carry him to safety, much as Houston is carried by Costner. Also, while this is taking place, the background music heard is Kenneth and Tracy singing the song "I Will Always Love You" as a parody to the movie and song.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Whitney Houston | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | Whitney Houston · Whitney · I'm Your Baby Tonight · My Love Is Your Love · Just Whitney |
| Soundtracks | The Bodyguard · Waiting to Exhale · The Preacher's Wife |
| Other albums | Whitney: The Greatest Hits · Love, Whitney · One Wish: The Holiday Album · The Ultimate Collection |
| Related articles | Discography · Chart achievements · Awards · Grammy history |
fr:Bodyguard it:La guardia del corpo (film 1992) ja:ボディガード (映画) no:Bodyguard pl:Bodyguard pt:The Bodyguard ru:Телохранитель (фильм, 1992) sr:Телохранитељ (филм) sv:Bodyguard
