AMS Pictures has released the trailer for its new documentary “Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection,” which celebrates the pop singer’s life and music as well as details her untimely death after struggling with anorexia nervosa.
The Carpenters were a top musical act in the 1970s with songs such as “Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” However, Karen’s chase for perfection and struggle with the at-the-time vastly misunderstood eating disorder led to her death at age 32.
Using unreleased recordings and celebrity interviews – including with Olivia Newton-John, Cynthia Gibb, Suzanne Somers, Kristin Chenoweth, Carnie Wilson, Bob James and Carol Burnett – the documentary sheds light on the singer’s short life and musical legacy.
The documentary was directed by Randy Martin (“The Inspiration Sessions,” “Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey”) and produced and written by Randy Schmidt (author of “Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter,” “Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters”). Brad Osborne (“Tom Petty: Won’t Back Down,” “Shania Twain: The Price of Fame”) produced and edited the film, and Carnie Wilson (of the pop band Wilson Phillips) and Andy Streitfeld (“I Was Lorena Bobbitt,” “A Defining Moment: Four Tuskegee Airmen and the Inauguration of Barack Obama”) executive produced the documentary. Osman Tello (“Murder Made Me Famous”) served as director of photography and Chuck Brown and Paul Ellison as editors.
AMS Pictures, a Dallas-based full-service multimedia production company, specializes in independent documentaries, and its work includes “I Was Lorena Bobbitt,” “#TextMeWhenYouGetHome” and “Cellmate Secrets.”
“Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection” will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Feb. 10. Watch the trailer above.
