There have been a couple of documentaries about the life of music superstar Whitney Houston, whose shining life and tragically sad ending always seemed like it would be well suited to a film, and now director Stella Meghie is teaming up with the Houston estate to get one in the works.
Another key member of the team is Anthony McCarten, who is becoming something of a true-life specialist, what with The Theory Of Everything, Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour and The Two Popes already on his CV, a clutch of Oscar and other nominations following and trophies for several of the lead actors in films he wrote.
Houston's life, in which she won six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards and two Emmy Awards, among many others, was a mixture of incredible success (including starring in and singing the theme to The Bodyguard) and sad lows. She was inducted earlier this year into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Two big challenges for this one: walking the tricky tightrope between the dark and light sides and finding someone to play Houston herself.
The producers, who include McCarten, Pat Houston and music producer Clive Davis (who was a mentor and close friend of Houston) have told Deadline that they're promising a "joyous, emotional and heart-breaking 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 stardom 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."
"We are incredibly lucky to have the support and input of many of the key people who knew Whitney the best and who were there at the time, in the making of this film," says McCarten. "I am working closely with all of them, to authentically tell the extraordinary story of a peerless talent, taken from us too soon. Recreating for the big screen those unforgettable performances, those beloved songs, and that incredible journey, will be an enormous responsibility, undertaking, privilege and delight for myself and for our entire team."