Music mogul Clive Davis and the Whitney Houston Estate have confirmed they’re working on a Whitney biopic. The film will be directed by newcomer Stella Maghie, whose feature debut was 2016’s Jean of the Joneses.
Davis conceived the project and took the idea to Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter Anthony McCarten. The film’s tentative title is ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, with Davis saying McCarten has “committed to a no holds barred, musically rich screenplay.”
“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 press release.
He wants the film to reveal “the whole Whitney, whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.” Casting details and potential release dates are not available at this time.
Watch: Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Davis and Houston go way back – Whitney signed with Davis’ Arista Records when she was 19 years old. She stayed with the label right up until her final album, 2009’s I Look To You. Along the way she had three US number one albums (four if you include The Bodyguard soundtrack) and a whopping 11 US number one singles.
Two Houston documentaries have surfaced in recent years. 2017’s Whitney: Can I Be Me looked closely at the singer’s drug use and close personal relationships, including those with ex Bobby Brown and one-time best friend Robyn Crawford.
Watch: Whitney: Can I Be Me – Official trailer
The following year’s Whitney was created by Kevin Macdonald, the director behind 2012’s Bob Marley doc, Marley. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 before going on to achieve credible box office success. It too looked at the darker facets of Houston’s private life, while also giving due attention to her stunning achievements.
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