Dionne Warwick, the legendary R&B singer with five Grammy awards and a staggering 56 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, is bringing a documentary about her life to the Toronto International Film Festival.
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner, follows the performer from her New Jersey gospel roots to her tour through the American south with Sam Cooke in the early 1960s, her legendary collaboration with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and her activist work in the Black and LGBT communities. The film features a stunning who’s who from the music biz, like Elton John, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, Gladys Knight, Snoop Dog, and many others.
The film also touches on the 80-year-old Warwick’s recent success on social media. (You may recall her playfully razzing Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd not long ago.) In an interview published Saturday at The Hollywood Reporter, Warwick explained her attitude toward the ever-controversial bird app, and the people who interact with her there.
“Jack Dorsey said to me, ‘You have no idea how refreshing it is now for me to even look at tweets and see how positive the babies have become,’” Warwick said, suggesting that Twitter’s co-founder sees her as a positive oasis on the oftentimes chaotic platform.
She continued, “it’s so true. Now, all of a sudden, they’re smiling, and I think they’re very cautious about what they say. Because I will let them know, ‘Hey, chill out. That’s not what we’re on this thing for. We got some nice things to say to each other. And if you want to ask a question, then do that. Just do it with a little bit of diplomacy here.’”
In early July, Warwick used her platform to strongly advocate for Britney Spears as the pop singer commenced a legal battle against her father. In the new interview, she said “I feel so bad for that baby,” and added that she’d gotten to know her through her son, record producer Damon Elliott. The two singers were planning a duet, but Spears backed out, citing cold feet. Warwick was quick to add “which is OK.”
Being understanding like that is, as she once sang, what friends are for.
— Unhappy Little Trees: The Dark Legacy of Bob Ross
— The True Story of a Hollywood Partnership Built and Destroyed by Money, Sex, and Celebrity
— Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent on Why the Show Isn’t “Warm and Fuzzy”
— Caftans, Goyard, and Elvis: Inside The White Lotus’s Costumes
— The Chair Is Like an Academic Game of Thrones
— The Best Movies and Shows Streaming on Netflix This Month
— Rachael Leigh Cook on Reclaiming She’s All That
— Watch Kristen Stewart Channel Princess Di in Spencer’s Official Trailer
— From the Archive: Jeffrey Epstein and Hollywood’s Omnipresent Publicist
— Sign up for the “HWD Daily” newsletter for must-read industry and awards coverage—plus a special weekly edition of “Awards Insider.”