WISCONSIN (CBS 58) — Last weekend, CBS 58 brought you a special look at the documentary Betty White from the filmmaker himself.
Monday evening, his work celebrating the life of Betty White is shown on the big screen.
Originally, Marcus Cinemas only had one time slot for “Betty White, A Celebration,” but after Betty passed away, they added a few more options.
Fans filled just over half the theater for Monday night’s screening.
It airs Monday nights only, in 1,500 theaters nationwide.
Fans young and old who purchased tickets to see “Betty White, A Celebration” were ecstatic with laughter.
“I want to hear laughs, I want to hear jokes. I want to hear stories,” Brookfield’s Pam Beining said.
Wisconsin native Steve Boettcher wanted his documentary to air on Betty White’s 100th birthday with her, but she died 18 days ago.
“And we heard from Betty’s team later that day and they said Betty would want you to go ahead, Betty would want this celebration to happen,” Boettcher said.
Fans too were happy to see that his team felt the show should go on.
“But she’s just awesome, I liked that she was smart all the time,” Brookfield’s Mike Ewens said.
“You couldn’t see the funeral, it was private. So it’s kind of nice to be a part of it,” Beining said.
The documentary features clips from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Carol Burnett Show and The Golden Girls.
She also swept away a new generation when she became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live.
“But television in a way — and in a case like this, you almost felt like she was an extended member of your family,” said Keith Schmitz of Milwaukee.
“I was so excited that she turned 100 that I was really sad to hear that she, you know, passed away a few weeks short of 100,” said Ellie Ewens of Brookfield.
The documentary filled in the details of his life. Betty was the first female producer and the first female Emmy nominee.
“We’ve been shooting this project for about 10 years, and she always says Steve was built in to me, and she always gives me winks and smiles,” Boettcher said.
You can watch the trailer on the Marcus Cinemas website.
