Whitney Houston is set to get the proper biopic treatment with approval from her estate. The flick will tentatively be titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The producers described the film as “a joyous, emotional and heart-breaking celebration of the life and music of the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom. While being very frank about the price that super-stardom exacted, it will be both the rich and complex saga of the search for the perfect marriage between song and singer and audience, and at the same time the moving tale of a simple Jersey girl trying to find her way back home.”
Anthony McCarten has been tapped to work on the screenplay and he’s excited about working with the late singer’s past collaborators to “authentically” tell her story. “We are incredibly lucky to have the support and input of many of the key people who knew Whitney the best and who were there at the time, in the making of this film,” McCarten said in a statement. “I am working closely with all of them, to authentically tell the extraordinary story of a peerless talent, taken from us too soon.”
A helmsman hasn’t been secured but they’re eyeing Stella Meghie to do it.
Whitney Houston’s sister in law, Pat Houston who is also representing the estate, will produce the flick alongside the singer’s mentor and longtime friend, Clive Davis. “From all my personal and professional experience with Whitney from her late teenage years to her tragic premature death, I know the full Whitney Houston story has not yet been told,” Davis said in a statement. “I am so glad that Anthony McCarten has committed to a no-holds-barred, musically rich screenplay that finally reveals the whole Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.”
Pat Houston added, “Whitney’s legacy deserves only the best that can be given. I stand with the hearts of these partners being the chosen ones to produce a film that’s uplifting and inspiring to all that loved her, giving you a reason to continue to celebrate The Voice that we all fell in love with and will cherish forever!”
News of this biopic comes years after Lifetime released an unauthorized one starring Angela Bassett. Houston’s estate clearly disapproved of the making of this film. “If you watch this movie, watch it knowing that Lifetime is notorious for making bad biopics of deceased celebrities and brace yourself for the worst,” Pat said.
