EntertainmentCelebritiesWhitney Houstonclive davis

Whitney Houston Biopic In The Works

The film, titled “I Wanna Dance with Somebody" will follow the singer's career from obscurity to pop stardom.
AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A feature film about Whitney Houston’s life is in the works from the screenwriter of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The biopic is being shepherded by the Whitney Houston Estate, music producer Clive Davis and Primary Wave Music, the partners said Wednesday.

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” will follow Houston from obscurity to pop stardom and promises to be “frank about the price that super-stardom exacted,” according to the announcement.

“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. He said McCarten’s script will finally reveal the “whole Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.”

Houston sold over 200 million records worldwide during her 25-year career and won six Grammys, 16 Billboard Music Awards and two Emmys before her death in 2012.

McCarten, who has gotten Oscar nominations for his scripts for “The Theory of Everything,” “The Darkest Hour” and “The Two Popes,” said in a statement that he’s grateful to be working closely with the people who knew Houston best.

The announcement also said that Stella Meghie is in “advanced talks” to direct. Meghie most recently directed “The Photograph” with Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield.

The project does not have a studio or distribution yet.

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Before You Go

6 Whitney Houston Quotes To Remember
'When I started singing, it was almost like speaking.'(01 of06)
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Photo: Houston performs in Paris on May 18, 1988. (credit:Getty)
'When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do.'(02 of06)
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Photo: Aretha Franklin performs at the Candie's Foundation 2011 benefit gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 3, 2011 in New York City. (credit:Getty)
'God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?'(03 of06)
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Photo: Houston performas during the 2004 World Music Awards at the Thomas and Mack Center on September 15, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (credit:Getty)
'Love Is A Contact Sport'(04 of06)
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She didn't write the song, but she sang it like she knew what she was talking about. Photo: Whitney Houston with her husband, Bobby Brown, on February 8, 1994 in Los Angeles. (credit:Getty)
'I almost wish I could be more exciting, that I could match what is happening out there to me'(05 of06)
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Photo: Houston on February 8, 1994 in Los Angeles. (credit:Getty)
'I like being a woman, even in a man's world. After all, men can't wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.'(06 of06)
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Photo: Producer Clive Davis and Houston attend the 15th Annual Ella Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on September12, 2006 in Beverly Hills, California. (credit:Getty)
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