The Bodyguard (1992)

The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic thriller drama film directed by Mick Jackson, and written by Lawrence Kasdan, who produced it with Kevin Costner and Jim Wilson. Starring Costner, Whitney Houston (in her feature film acting debut), Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs and Ralph Waite, the film follows Frank Farmer a former United States Secret Service agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect Rachel Marron, a famous actress and singer, from an unknown stalker. Despite initially disliking each other, Frank saves Rachel from close calls and the two unexpectedly forge a passionate bond.

Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, with the original intention to have it turned into a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross before McQueen pulled out of negotiations and led to Ryan O'Neal taking his place. However, after Ross backed off the project due to issues with the script, development was delayed until 1985 when Costner took interest in the script. Filming took place from November 1991 to March 1992, with a $25 million budget.

The Bodyguard was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1992, after premiering at the Mann's Chinese Theater two days earlier. Upon its release, the film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $411 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1992 and started Houston's successful foray into films. At the time, it was ranked the tenth highest grossing film in box office history. The film was notable for its positive portrayal of an interracial couple without bringing attention to that aspect, breaking a major barrier in Hollywood at the time.

The film's accompanying soundtrack by Houston became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, with sales of over 45 million copies worldwide, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The lead single "I Will Always Love You" achieved unprecedented worldwide success, selling over 24 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling single by a female artist of all time. The other singles "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The film received seven nominations at the 13th Golden Raspberry Awards, including for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (for Costner) and Worst Actress (for Houston). In spite of the Razzies, Houston received best acting nominations at the People's Choice Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. Billboard later listed Houston's performance in the film as the 27th best performance of a musician in a box-office film. The film has since been reevaluated by critics and has developed a cult following.