I Wanna Dance With Somebody is expected to hit screens in 2022.
Back in April, it was announced that a Whitney Houston biopic was on its way, and now Deadline reports that Sony’s TriStar Pictures has won the bidding rights to distribute the film, and that they’re planning to release it around Thanksgiving in 2022.
The film will be written by Anthony McCarten, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter who penned the critically-acclaimed Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. He also wrote the Oscar-nominated Stephen Hawking biopic, The Theory of Everything.
McCarten is also producing the film, alongside Pat Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law. Stella Meghie, who’s directed films like Jean of the Joneses and The Photograph will be directing, and Clive Davis, Whitney’s mentor, is also linked to the film.
Despite her tragic death in 2012, Whitney remains one of the biggest-selling female artists of all time, and through her career amassed an impressive 22 American Music Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and six Grammy Awards.
Producers of the film said that their telling of Whitney’s life 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.
“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.”
The film will also focus on Whitney’s tragic end, and the legacy that she has.
Speaking about the film, Clive Davis said: “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.
“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 bravely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.”
And Nicole Brown, the head of TriStar Pictures, said: “Whitney just makes you want to get out of your seat and sing and dance! She is anthemic in every way.
“Anthony McCarten has bottled that up in his masterful screenplay bringing this beloved legend to life in a way we’ve never seen her – funny, exhilarating, aspirational, complex and incredibly human.
“Add to that Stella Meghie, a diehard fan, who is so gifted at telling beautiful, modern, feminine tales. With the guidance of Pat Houston, the legendary Clive Davis, Larry Mestel, and Denis O’Sullivan and Jeff Kalligheri, we have the absolute dream team to create the ultimate celebration of Whitney’s incredible life and musical achievements.”
NBC News
Last year, Whitney’s longtime friend and personal assistant Robyn Crawford broke decades of silence over their relationship when she confirmed that they were once lovers.
“We were intimate on many levels, and all I can say is that it was very deep and we were very connected. Our friendship was a deep friendship. In the early part of that friendship, it was physical,” she said.
According to Robyn, the physical side of the relationship ended in 1982 when Whitney signed a recording deal with Clive Davis on Arista.
“The music business was a world we were learning and we didn’t want anything to interfere with where she was going,” she continued. “I just felt that I wouldn’t be losing much. I still loved her the same and she loved me, and that was good enough.”
Related: Whitney Houston finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
Latest
