'Betty White: A Celebration' Producers Open Up About Final Interview

Betty White: A Celebration is arriving in celebration of the late Betty White.

The special, originally filmed as a 100th birthday tribute prior to her death, will arrive in theaters across the U.S. for one-day only on Monday (January 17).

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During an interview with THR, producers Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein opened up about the special.

On the final interview: “It was Dec. 20, in her home. Betty loved getting glammed up, as she called it. The dress, the hair, the look — she just loved that. It’s probably about a minute or two long clip of just her looking directly in the camera as the graciously fun, warm Betty. She thanks all her fans over the years and for being out on the 17th to see the film. It’s just got that twinkle that’s Betty. The great thing about it is that she didn’t read it off the teleprompter or have a script. She ad-libbed it, and that’s Betty to the very end. She’s spontaneous and has the wherewithal to go with it and do it live. She was so good at that. You can’t watch it for the first time and help but get goosebumps when you hear her. It’s just very, very sweet.”

On how the special changed: “The film was already done and distributed to theaters, and we pulled it back. The first thing we did was sit down and talk with our team and Betty’s team — should we just cancel? Betty’s team pushed us on, like, ‘No, she would want this. Go forward. Go with this.’ So that was the big decision that had been made that weekend. Then on Monday, we just started reshaping the film to reflect the news that had happened. But we still kept that tone of celebration and everything Betty would want to do with it. We also retitled the film.”

On possibly providing Betty White’s last word: “We humbly sit in this seat of privilege to be able to do this project and have the breadth of the majority of her career, really, that she’s given us and shared with us. I think the film radiates Betty’s heart, humor, and happiness. You can’t help but smile when you hear her name or see her on-screen. As we all know, Betty’s kind of a rascal, a troublemaker. I remember going places with her filming, and she would always say, ‘Oh, here’s Steven and Mike. They’ve been embedded with me for the last 10 years.’ Then she would wink-wink. It was always her way of being playful and fun, and I think the film reflects that.”

Her agent also just revealed her funeral wishes.

For more, head to THR.com.