A feature film on the life of iconic songstress Whitney Houston is forming fast, and it will be using many of Houston’s hit songs.
The Whitney Houston Estate, Primary Wave, and Grammy-winning music producer Clive Davis have teamed up for I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Scripting and producing is Oscar-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten(The Two Popes, Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Theory Of Everything), and negotiations are being carried out with Stella Meghie (The Photograph) to direct.
Though focusing on a female icon will be a new one for him, McCarten’s incredible biopic track record means he has the full support of the Houston family, after the late Houston’s mentor Davis reached out to McCarten last April.
Houston – who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year – is the most awarded female music artist of all time, having won Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, and two Emmy Awards, among many others, before her tragic death in 2012.
From being discovered by Davis in 1983, as a 19-year-old to making music that became the soundtrack for multiple generations with her hit songs such as I Will Always Love You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, I’m Your Baby Tonight and Million Dollar Bill, etc., Whitney Houston’s full story has not been told yet.
Hinged on McCarten’s musically rich, vulnerable screenplay, the film as envisioned by the producers will be 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.”
It’s still unclear when the project will be set with a distributor, and the biggest question of who can possibly play Houston- who was undoubtedly the voice of a generation- remains unanswered for now.
Are you excited about the biopic? Who do you think could play Houston? Comment below!
