There have been several movies about Whitney Houston’s life and work over the past few years, including two distinct documentaries and a Lifetime movie directed by Angela Bassett. There was also a memoir published in 2019 by Houston’s best friend and longtime rumored girlfriend Robyn Crawford, and a depressing Houston hologram tour. But now Houston’s story will receive the Bohemian Rhapsody treatment, quite literally, with a new forthcoming biopic produced by Clive Davis and her estate.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that a new Houston biopic is in the works, titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Anthony McCarten, who wrote the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, will write the screenplay, which isn’t particularly thrilling given the factual inaccuracies of the movie. However Stella Meghie, who recently directed The Photograph, will be directing, and that gives me hope this might actually be good.
Just because this movie will be estate-approved doesn’t mean it won’t shy away from the darker corners of Houston’s life. The estate-approved documentary Whitney, after all, was a depressing portrait of the artist’s career. But in a moment where fawning music films like Bohemian Rhapsody, The Dirt, and a forthcoming Bee-Gees movie continue to roll in, I’m glad Houston’s life is finally getting a big Hollywood biopic treatment, even if the complexity of her career may be hard to capture on-screen.