Naomi Ackie has been cast as Whitney Houston in the upcoming biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The actress played Jannah in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Houston’s legacy is a notoriously tragic one, involving a tremendous rise to fame, followed by a plunge into the dark side of celebrity from which she never recovered.
Beginning in the mid 1980s and continuing for almost 25 years, Houston’s musical career broke numerous records and established her as one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Her albums have sold over 200 million copies globally and in 2020, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, that honor came eight years after Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room. She was 48-years-old at the time of her death, and by that point, he career had become a shadow of its former self. A bad marriage to fellow musician Bobby Brown as well as issues with drugs and alcohol meant that Houston’s public image had taken a considerable hit. Further questionable efforts such as taking part in reality TV series Being Bobby Brown gave Houston a sort of car-crash watchability - none of which was befitting of someone of her tremendous talent and ability.
Despite the tragedies that surrounded Houston’s later years, fans have continued to stand by her memory, and her music continues to speak for itself. As one of the most famous vocalists of all time, a film biopic offers a tempting possibility for fans to peer into Houston’s life and learn exactly where things went wrong. At present, Sony is working to get the biopic entitled I Wanna Dance With Somebody off the ground. According to THR, the key role of Houston has now been decided, with Ackie cast. Ackie is still relatively new to Hollywood, but a solid performance as Houston could launch her career into superstar territory.
The search for an actress who could play Houston reportedly went on for the better part of this past year. Ultimately, it was Ackie’s ability to capture Houston’s stage presence and provide humanity to the life the songstress lived behind closed doors that sealed the deal. I Wanna Dance With Somebody i currently set for a 2022 release, and was written by Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter Anthony McCarten, with Stella Meghie (The Photograph) directing. The film is expected to be a no-holds-barred account of Houston’s life, meaning that it very well could enter into some controversial territory. One of the biggest issues that many people had with the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody was that its portrayal of the life and times of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was a relatively safe one. Exactly how I Wanna Dance With Somebody will handle Houston’s private life could be one of the film’s highlights.
Thankfully, Houston’s estate has cleared I Wanna Dance With Somebody to use Houston’s full song catalogue. However, those who are looking forward to seeing how Ackie handles singing some of Houston’s greatest hits are out of luck. At present it appears that the songs will all use Houston's vocals and Ackie won’t get to add her own interpretation to this. That’s a considerable strike against the award potential for Ackie, but it certainly doesn’t make delivering a stunning performance an impossibility.
Source: THR