THE BODYGUARD IS 25 YEARS OLD
12 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT...
On its 25th anniversary, we delve into the facts behind the film
Tissues at the ready. This week, The Bodyguard – starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner – celebrates its 25th anniversary. Almost as soon as it was released, it became an all-time classic. heat takes a look at the facts behind the epic love story between an international superstar and her minder, which still has us all singing I Will
Always Love You in the shower… 1 The karaoke staple and epic love song I Will Always
Love You almost didn’t make it into the film. It was Kevin Costner who fought for the song to be included AND suggested Whitney Houston sing the beginning a cappella to make it extra emosh. We’ll always love you for that, Kev. 2 The song was written by Dolly Parton, not as an epic break-up tune, but as a farewell to her duet partner and producer Porter Wagoner. Whitney’s version is the second best-selling single by a female artist (after Cher’s Believe). 3 Never mind one song almost not making it, the proposal for the entire film was rejected 67 times. The film features a fictional “67th Academy Awards”, which might be a cheeky nod to this fact! 4 In what might be the weirdest film trivia you’ll ever read, a sequel to the film was in the works with Kevin Costner returning and Diana, Princess of Wales as his leading lady. Yes, actual Lady Di – and according to Kev, she was totally on board. A draft script was developed and supposedly delivered to him just days before Diana’s death. He told
Premier magazine, “I picked it up and the first 30 pages were totally her. It was dignified, sexy, smart, funny — and I couldn’t finish. I stopped. It broke my heart.” 5 The film was originally supposed to star Diana Ross and Steve Mcqueen in the lead roles when it was first proposed in the ’70s. The supposedly “controversial” interracial relationship stopped the film from happening, as well as rumours Steve wasn’t happy to be billed second to Supremes singer Diana. Olivia Newtonjohn, Madonna, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Janet Jackson, and even Dolly herself were considered for the role.
6 The Bodyguard just missed out on being the highest-grossing film of 1992. Disney’s cheeky street rat Aladdin secured the top spot with a worldwide revenue of £384million compared to
The Bodyguard ’s £314million. 7 This was Whitney’s first acting gig, at the age of 29. After deliberating about the role for two years, she said that Kev called her himself to ask, “Listen, are you going to do this movie with me or not?” She said, “I told him about my fears. I said, ‘I’m afraid. I don’t want to go out there and fall.’ And he said, ‘I promise you I will not let you fall. I will help you.’ And he did.”
8 The Godfather ’s “horse head in the bed” scene takes place in the same mansion used as Rachel’s home in The Bodyguard. 9 When Whitney Houston died in 2012, Kevin gave a heartfelt speech at her funeral. Talking about their time filming together, he said, “You made the picture what it was. A lot of men could have played my part... but you, Whitney, I truly believed that you were the only one who could have played Rachel Marron at that time. You weren’t just pretty — you were as beautiful as a woman could be. And people didn’t just like you, Whitney — they loved you.” 10 Kevin has said that he would still consider doing a sequel if it was done for the right reasons. “You’re telling people to back a truck up, get a big shovel and that’s how much money you’re going to get. [Sequels] have a tendency to be a lot about the money. So, I would revisit that movie, in the right way.” Bet you wouldn’t mind the truckload of money, too, Kev.
The lead male role 11 of Frank Farmer was rumoured to have been based on Whitney’s own personal bodyguard, Welshman David Roberts. When asked how true to life the film was, he said, “That film, in two hours and 30 minutes, encapsulated what had been six years of our life. Absent two elements – I’d never been shot at when I was with her, and I never made love to her. You take those two elements out and it really becomes a boring two-and-a half-hours.” You’re not wrong.
A musical of the 12 film was in development for six years and opened in London on 5 December 2012. The show – currently on tour – was nominated for four Olivier Awards and has featured stars including Beverley Knight and Alexandra Burke as Rachel.