| 1 | 1 | | Whitney Houston is joining Madonna as a singer-turned-movie star. She would not, |
| 2 | | one suspects, ever join her for lunch. |
| 2 | 3 | | The couple last met in a corridor backstage at a music awards ceremony in Los |
| 4 | | Angeles. Madonna had been voted Best Female Performer and Whitney had come second. |
| 5 | | 'Hi,' said Whitney, 'how ya doing?' The small blonde figure brushed past, clutching her |
| 6 | | award. 'Well, obviously better than you are,' she hissed and disappeared into the night. |
| 3 | 7 | | Whitney smiles sweetly as she recalls the incident. 'I don't think I have ever disliked |
| 8 | | anyone in my whole life,' she says. 'It's attitudes I object to, and that kind of attitude I find |
| 9 | | more sad than hurtful.' |
| 4 | 10 | | Still with a fixed smile she adds: 'I've never worried about Madonna. There's plenty |
| 11 | | of room for both of us in the hit charts. As far as films are concerned, I may be |
| 12 | | inexperienced when it comes to acting, but I don't think her movies are anything to shout |
| 13 | | about.' |
| 5 | 14 | | Whitney's first Hollywood movie, called The Bodyguard, is unlikely to fail; she stars |
| 15 | | with, and is being coached by, none other than Kevin Costner. 'Kevin has been wonderful. |
| 16 | | He's given me even more help than the director. He spends a lot of time with me, advising |
| 17 | | me on how to handle the next scene, how to deliver my lines, the sort of reaction I should |
| 18 | | show, that sort of thing. He's great, really great.' |
| 6 | 19 | | As Whitney relaxes in jeans on the set, she gives the impression she is rather bored |
| 20 | | with the whole thing. 'I've spent more time in the make-up room than in front of the |
| 21 | | camera,' she says. 'There's nothing to do but drink coffee and watch TV. I don't think I |
| 22 | | would want to devote the majority of my career to films. I'm basically a singer and |
| 23 | | performer. But if I could make an occasional movie, that would be fine. My main ambition |
| 24 | | is to star in an all-black musical, but we'll have to see if anything comes up.' |
| 7 | 25 | | Whitney is hurt that black musicians accused her of moving away from her roots. |
| 26 | | 'Yes, that was awful,' she says. 'And I could never understand it. They seemed to think I |
| 27 | | was turning my back on my background, in favour of mainstream white music. I even got |
| 28 | | booed when I was nominated for awards. |
| 8 | 29 | | But I tried to silence the doubters with my third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight, |
| 30 | | which contained much more black-orientated material. It seemed to satisfy them, because |
| 31 | | I've not had any remarks about that. Even so, the truth is that it was the least successful of |
| 32 | | my albums. And from now on, I'm going my way, doing what I personally want to do on |
| 33 | | my next albums. 1 don't care if it does upset some people - it's my career, after all.' |
| 9 | 34 | | How does she see her career? 'I want first to prove to the world that I'm not just a |
| 35 | | passing phase, but someone who's here to stay. Some people may say that I've already |
| 36 | | achieved that status, but I still want to satisfy myself, When I can feel that I'm up there, |
| 37 | | along with the stayers like Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin, then I can afford to |
| 38 | | think more about my personal life.' |
| 10 | 39 | | Does she have any regrets? 'Not a single one.' Whitney raises her voice and punches |
| 40 | | the table to hammer home her point. 'I couldn't have done anything else but sing. I'm |
| 41 | | totally useless in other directions. If I hadn't made it this way, I guess I'd have ended up |
| 42 | | being a waitress or a shop assistant.' |
| 11 | 43 | | There is silence, and suddenly the sweet smile reappears. 'Wow, that was quite an |
| 44 | | outburst, wasn't it?' Madonna was clearly lucky to get away with her trophy intact. |
| | | |
| | | from 'People Magazine', January 5, 1992 |
