How Luther Vandross documentary director Dawn Porter let the late singer speak for himself

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — While Luther Vandross died in 2005 at the age of 54, his music remains timeless.

A new documentary about his life and career, “Luther: Never Too Much,” tells the story of the man many consider to be one of the greatest R&B artists of all time. (“Luther: Never Too Much” is co-distributed by CNN Films.)

The title of the doc references the name of Vandross’ debut 1981 hit album, which is now a classic. The film traces his career as not only a gifted musician and artist in his own right, but also as a producer of icons like Aretha Franklin as well as a popular singer of jingles for major companies like Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Director Dawn Porter told CNN that as beloved as Vandross was, she wanted the film to be more than just an overt love letter to him.

“One thing I should say is I did not want to stuff it with people saying how great he was,” she said. “I always envisioned that this would not only reach Luther’s fans, but people who never heard of him as well.”

Not that Porter had any lack of people to sing his praises, as even superstars like Mariah Carey and Jamie Foxx appear in the film.

But for Porter, an award-winning filmmaker, the one person she wanted to make sure she gave an opportunity to speak was Vandross himself. She was fortunate, she said, because the “archive was so grand.”

“Working with (record label) Sony meant, we had this rehearsal footage,” she said. “We had these electronic press kits and those are usually just seen by publicists.”

“But for us, they were really gold because they allowed me to let him tell his stories so much,” she added. “And then the people who really loved him and knew him kind of filled in things and gave praise where praise was necessary.”

That included the touchy subject of Vandross’ sexuality, which has been a source of speculation for years.

“Everybody’s like, you know, ‘Is he or isn’t he’ kind of conversation,” Porter said. “And the thing about Luther was you always had the sense that people didn’t really care, they just wanted to know.”

Porter is well known for being able to sensitively tell narratives, having directed several notable non-fiction films including “John Lewis: Good Trouble” and “The Lady Bird Diaries.”

And while she didn’t have the opportunity to speak directly with the late Vandross for the film, Porter still loved working on the documentary about him.

“For Luther, I just gained such a much deeper appreciation of the work that he put into making his art look effortless,” she said.

“Luther: Never Too Much” hits theaters in select cities Friday and will premiere next year on CNN, OWN and Max.

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