Whitney Houston’s life story will be the subject of a new biopic produced by Clive Davis and directed by Stella Maghie, according to a press release. The film, currently titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody, will be made in partnership with the Whitney Houston Estate and came about after Davis approached screenwriter and producer Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody) with the idea. Other producers for the film include Pat Houston on behalf of the Houston Estate, Larry Mestel on behalf of Primary Wave Music, and Denis O’Sullivan.
“From all my personal and professional experience with Whitney from her late teenage years to her tragic premature death, I know the full Whitney Houston story has not yet been told,” Davis said in a statement. “I am so glad that Anthony McCarten has committed to a no holds barred, musically rich screenplay that finally reveals the whole Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.”
Houston was previously the subject of a documentary in 2018, as well as an unauthorized biopic that aired on Lifetime in 2015. She is a part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.