Betty White’s 100th Birthday Celebration Film Will Debut As Planned
2021 really did save some of the worst news for the very end, when the extremely sad news broke that television icon, Golden Girl, and all-around Extremely Beloved Person Betty White died on December 31st, just two weeks before her 100th birthday. A whole lot of people pointed out that Betty White, a master of comedic timing, probably would have appreciated the timing of it all. Before Betty’s death, there were plans to release a movie about her life on her 100th birthday, January 17th. And that film is going ahead as planned.
People magazine reports that producers of the film, Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, told People that they have no plans to scrap the project, Betty White: 100 Years Young, despite the fact that the title of that film might now technically be considered false advertising. The producers explain that it’s still a tribute to Betty’s life, and it doesn’t matter that she passed on the 31st because her achievements still deserve to be celebrated. They released the following statement to People:
“Our hearts mourn today with the passing of Betty White. During the many years we worked with her, we developed a great love and admiration for Betty as a person, and as an accomplished entertainer. We are thankful for the many decades of delight she brought to everyone. Betty always said she was the ‘luckiest broad on two feet’ to have had a career as long as she did. And honestly, we were the lucky ones to have had her for so long. We will go forward with our plans to show the film on January 17 in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life – and experience what made her such a national treasure.”
The film includes footage and interviews of Betty herself filmed before her passing, so prepare yourself accordingly and pull out your heftiest box of Kleenex. Plus, interviews with Betty’s former friends and peers, like Carol Burnett, Robert Redford, Valerie Bertinelli, and Betty’s longtime stalker, Ryan Reynolds. Here’s the trailer for Betty White: 100 Years Young (Give or Take a Week or Two). And from the trailer you can see, the film also features some talking from Alex Trebek, who passed away in November 2020, which tells us this film was probably in production for a while.
Also as noted in the trailer, it’s a one-day event in theaters only. Not even streaming?! Also, people are still hesitant to hit up movie theaters right now, because – well, you know why! Even Betty is probably looking down at that choice and thinking, “No! The numbers are up, don’t risk it just for me! Stay home and find a Golden Girls compilation video on YouTube if you need to scratch that itch!” Or even save it for when the pandemic is over. Hey, it’s not like we’re that committed to calendar accuracy here. Plus, if there’s anything non-Spider-Man film that could save those sad box office numbers, it’s a feel-good, birthday-based Betty White centennial clip show.
Pic: Wenn.com