Clive Davis Working On Whitney Houston Biopic

Another biopic about beloved singer Whitney Houston is in the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, influential music producer Clive Davis is planning the movie with the Houston estate and the flick is set to be called I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

The script for the movie will be penned by Anthony McCarten, who wrote the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. He is also writing the screenplay for Paramount’s Bee Gees movie. Meanwhile  Stella Meghie, who wrote the romantic comedy The Photograph, starring Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield, will direct.

Davis will produce along with Pat Houston on behalf of the Houston Estate. With the estate’s backing, the movie will be able to utilize Houston’s music catalog. There is no distribution company tied to the film yet.

Whitney Houston died in 2012 at age 48. She was a celebrated star and is constantly listed as one of the greatest singers of all time with songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “Saving All My Love for You.” She was also known for dance anthems like “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”.

Since her death, there has been a few films centering on the life of Houston. In 2015 Angela Basset directed Yaya DaCosta in Whitney for Lifetime.

Gabrielle Dennis played Houston in BET’s The Bobby Brown Story in 2018 and Demetria McKinney played the role in the TV One film Bobbi Kristina.

Nick Broomfield directed the 2017 documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me for Showtime. Kevin Macdonald directed the 2018 documentary Whitney that premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was released internationally in theaters that summer. Houston’s family was involved and participated in interviews for the two documentaries though it was still considered controversial.

The mega pop stars life was full of professional highs and personal lows that the various projects have all explored. It will be interesting to see what areas this upcoming movie will focus on and how her legacy will be shaped.