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Whitney Houston: the journey of an icon revealed in a long-awaited biopic
More details are coming out about the new biopic on Whitney Houston. While a poster starring British actress Naomi Ackie has been unveiled, the release date of the film has just been revealed. The film recounting the career and life of the singer who sold over 200 million albums will be released on December 21st this year.
By Erwann Chevalier.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”fr” dir=”ltr”>? Don't you wanna dance ? ? <br>Découvrez l'histoire de la légende Whitney Houston.<br>I Wanna Dance With Somebody, prochainement au cinéma. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/IWannaDanceLeFilm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#IWannaDanceLeFilm</a> <a href=”https://t.co/nvcwhOdW4U”>pic.twitter.com/nvcwhOdW4U</a></p>— Sony Pictures France (@SonyPicturesFr) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SonyPicturesFr/status/1518610158754086913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
“I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody…” Who hasn’t ever danced to that love anthem? With over 4 million albums sold after its first release in 1987, the hit has travelled through time to raise Whitney Houston to the rank of pop and soul diva. Although the American singer, actress, producer, and model was very successful – she won several Grammy Awards and sold over 200 million albums – she went through dark times during her high-profile life, characterized by excesses and devastating scandals. In 2012, the interpret of the iconic I Will Always Love You, recorded for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard (1992), said goodbye at the age of 48, leaving behind her millions of desperate fans, as well as one of the largest musical legacies of all times.
Back in 2018, filmmaker Kevin MacDonald displayed the documentary Whitney out of competition in Cannes. Today, the singer has her own tribute biopic ten years after her passing. While the film title was known since 2020, more details about I Wanna Dance With Somebody are starting to come out for the public enjoyment. It will be released on December 21st this year and a poster of the biopic has just been unveiled. British actress Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who, The End of the F***ing World) appears her arms wide open, looking up to the sky, in a leather jacket, white top and pair of raw blue jeans – a troubling copy of the gorgeous Whitney Houston.
As for the direction, the American Kasi Lemmons (Candyman) takes the lead, while the script is put in Anthony McCarten’s hands, who happens to also be the writer of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the fantastic biopic about the music band Queen. The film invites us to step into the emotional and dynamic journey of Whitney Houston, of her music and her career. Starring next to Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) plays the producer who discovered the artist, Tamara Tunie (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit) embodies her mother Cissy Houston and Ashton Sanders takes on the role of her husband Bobby Brown.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Kasi Lemmons, coming out on December 21st, 2022.
