Just days after the deaths of mother-daughter duo Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, HBO has announced that it will move up the premiere of a documentary film about the actresses that was supposed to air in March.
The film, âBright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher,â was predominately shot in 2014 and 2015. But following the deaths of the daughter and mother on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, respectively, the cable channel has pushed up the airdate to Jan. 7 at 8 p.m.
A trailer from May for âBright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds & Carrie Fisherâ
âThe story of a familyâs complicated love, this documentary is an intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty in all its eccentricity,â HBO said in a release. âCarrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, live in the same Beverly Hills compound. The 83-year-old grand dame still has a Las Vegas act, but performing is taking its toll. Carrieâs response is both hilarious and heart-rending.â
âBright Lightsâ tracks Fisher and Reynoldsâ relationship as the daughter prepares for âStar Wars: Episode VII â The Force Awakensâ and the mother prepares to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2015 SAG Awards, which she wasnât able to accept in person because of health issues. In November, Fisher told the Los Angeles Times that Reynoldsâ âwork ethicâ helped her stay alive during that period.
âThatâs how she didnât die,â Fisher said. âShe will power through anything. There is no obstacle my mother wonât acknowledge. She broke her leg once while onstage and went back on and sang âTammy.â Sheâs this amazing creature, yâknow?â
The film has already been shown multiple times, including at the Cannes Film Festival in May and the New York Film Festival in October. In reviews published before Fisherâs and Reynoldsâ deaths, The Hollywood Reporter called the film a âtender tributeâ and the Los Angeles Times called it ârefreshingly honest.â
In a joint statement to Variety following the celebritiesâ deaths, the filmâs directors, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens, tried to describe the kinetic energy that appeared when Reynolds and Fisher were in a room at the same time.
âWhen either one entered a room, the energy changed. Quite simply, we were iron filings to their magnets. And never more so than when they were together. These women were more than mother and daughter: They were an expression of exquisite humanity in all its travail and triumph. They lived their days boldly. They sung every song worth singing (often together). Carrie and Debbie loved each other profoundly,â they wrote. âWe are devastated theyâre gone. And so very fortunate to have known them at all.â
HBO will also rerun Fisherâs one-woman show âWishful Drinkingâ on Sunday at 9 p.m.