Lifetime recently announced that actress Angela Bassett will be making her directorial debut by spearheading a film centered on the life and times of Whitney Houston.
The biopic, which will be released sometime in 2015, will focus mainly on the intensely scrutinized relationship between the late singer and Bobby Brown.
Both Houston and Bassett shared the screen when they both starred in Waiting To Exhale back in 1995, and even though that was a long time ago, Bassett who is an unexpected contender for this new project, is confident that she will up to the daunting task of tackling such a layered and sensitive subject. “I have such a regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents and accomplishments, and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story”.
Sounds like Bassett will not be indulging in the gross sensationalism that hampered the ill-fated couple neither will she be using the disturbingly revealing reality show Being Bobby Brown as a point of reference. But the question is whether or not she will obtain the assistance and blessing of Cissy Houston, the mother of the deceased icon, who has always remained fiercely protective and guarded when it comes to her beloved daughter.
There isn’t much information regarding casting, but Lifetime confirmed the working title which is simply Whitney Houston, and the network also divulged in a press release that the purpose of the film is to capture the many highs and lows that the celebrity couple experienced throughout their fractured marriage.
Houston died in 2012 after being discovered unconscious at the Beverly Hilton Hotel during pre-Grammy festivities. Her death was initially ruled as an “accidental drowning”, but after further investigation, it was determined that years of cocaine had taken it’s toll, leaving her susceptible to premature heart disease.
One thing is for sure, if Bassett proves to be as a good a director as she is an actress, then, we can expect Houston’s fans to be adequately entertained, as they are fondly reminded of the beautiful songbird who left us way too soon.
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