‘The Real Deal’: Dionne Warwick Wants People To Get To Know Her in Upcoming Documentary

When Dionne Warwick isn’t dropping trademark hilarity and sass online, the Queen of Twitter is preparing for the release of her award-winning documentary with CNN, Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over.

The highly-anticipated film, which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and earned first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for Documentaries, is bringing Warwick’s iconic story at the top of the new year, according to ET.com. It is also a special nod to the songstress’ “Don’t Make Over,” one of her 1960s hits that led to her induction in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The six-time Grammy Award-winning singer, who also earned a special tribute award for the documentary,  is excited to tell her story on her own terms through archival footage, personal photographs, and newsreels of her six-decade career in music and Black and LGBTQ activism.

“I am exceptionally excited, for many reasons,” Warwick told ET. “But the basic one is that finally people are gonna get to know me and know me through me, as opposed to old suppositions, you know? All those things that they thought or had opinions about? Now, they get the real deal.”

🥳🥂 It’s almost time! pic.twitter.com/vWFLncNu7O

— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) December 9, 2022

Directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner, Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over tells the story of the New Jersey native’s legacy and story beyond her musical endeavors. From her start singing in gospel groups with family members to becoming an internationally-renowned pop music icon, the film took five years to come together.

“It was like, do we include this or do we talk about that? But I simply said the genesis of this entire thing happens to be my book and all the information you need is right there,” said “The Walk On By” singer about her 2011 book, My Life, as I See It: An Autobiography. “I spilled my guts in that book!”

In recounting Warwick’s journey, the film will also feature exclusive interviews with Warwick’s sons, Damon and David Elliott, and music idols such as Cissy Houston, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Carlos Santana, and Stevie Wonder.

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over will stream live Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 at 9 p.m. Eastern exclusively on CNN. Following the film’s broadcast on CNN, it will be available via HBO Max and On Demand the next day.