Brit star Ackie is Whitney in fam-OKd film
Naomi Ackie has been cast to star as Whitney Houston in the forthcoming estate-sanctioned biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
The 28-year-old British actress (inset l.) has no singing background but has a considerable résumé of credits, including last year’s “Star Wars Rise of Skywalker” and the acclaimed TV series “The End Of The F—-ing World,” for which she was awarded a BAFTA Award for supporting actress earlier this year.
“I Wanna
Dance with Somebody,” named after one of Houston’s first million-selling song, will be directed by “The Photograph” auteur Stella Meghie and written by Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten.
The first feature film approved by the late music icon’s estate has Houston’s former manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston, music industry titan Clive Davis, Primary Wave’s Larry Mestel and Denis O’Sullivan of “Bohemian Rhapsody” among its producers.
“We spent the better part of the last year in an exhaustive search for an actress who could embody Whitney Houston,” Meghie told The Hollywood Reporter. “Naomi Ackie impressed us at every stage of the process. I was moved by her ability to capture the stage presence of a global icon while bringing humanity to her interior life.”
“Naomi Ackie’s screen test was so powerful, it sent shivers up my spine,” Davis said. “Although Whitney’s incomparable vocals are used for all the songs, Naomi’s extraordinary acting range enables her to masterfully capture Whitney’s unique charm, star power and, of course, her personal struggles. Naomi is the real deal, and I can’t imagine a better choice for this iconic role.”
Deadline previously reported that producers describe their vision for the project as a “joyous, emotional and heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom. While being very frank about the price that superstardom exacted, it will be both the rich and complex saga of the search for the perfect marriage between song and singer and audience, and at the same time the moving tale of a simple Jersey girl trying to find her way back home.”
The six-time Grammy Award-winning New Jersey native known as “The Voice” died in 2012 at age 48. The cause of death was accidental drowning at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.
Since her untimely death, Houston (inset r.) has been the subject of a well-received 2015 Lifetime biopic helmed by her “Waiting to Exhale” co-star Angela Bassett. The NAACP Image Award-nominated television movie starred “America’s Next Top Model” runnerup YaYa DaCosta in the title role, accompanied by vocals from Houston’s former Arista labelmate and duet partner Deborah Cox.
A much-buzzed-about Showtime documentary, “Whitney: Can I Be Me?” surfaced in 2017 without the cooperation of Houston’s family, and was followed up a year later by the big screen “Whitney” documentary, which was directed by Kevin MacDonald and authorized through the estate.
Earlier this year, Davis, who is credited for molding Houston into the iconic chart-topper she became, told The Los Angeles Times he was “very disappointed” in how she was previously covered in film, complained of “sensationalistic” treatment and said he was working on his own film.
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” is currently set for a Thanksgiving 2022 release.