Premiering tonight at 8/7 pm c on Lifetime Movie Network is another anticipated biopic , Whitney. Everyone adored the late and great Whitney Houston and wouldn’t mind another reason to reminisce on the iconic music and movies she left us. However, many people are nervous that the Whitney memoir produced by Lifetime will not deliver. The speculation arises after the failed attempt at Aaliyah:The Princess of R&B . But should viewers be worried?
Directed by Angela Basset, another iconic actress who gave a chilling performance as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It, played alongside Whitney in Waiting to Exhale . This lies as a calming factor for supporting the film because it is expected that Basset will keep things in line and “look out” for the legacy that Houston left behind. In a talk with the NY Post, Angela Bassett stated , “I would not have been interested in telling something that degraded someone I cared about” . These statements seem far too familiar when it comes to producers and directors. Wendy Williams ensured us that when it came to producing the Aaliyah movie that Lifetime ‘got it right’ . It seems that good intentions are always the main focus of the initial parties until it comes down to the real shot callers , the network.
So far, Lifetime has seem to have gotten the obvious thing right this time, casting. America’s Next Top Model Season 3 contestant Yaya Dacosta is the leading lady of the film. Fans were alleviated that she had a resemblance to Whitney. And although producers could not obtain the rights to Houston’s most famous song’s , due to lack of family support, They were able to have a similar voice , Deborah Cox, cover a few popular Whitney Houston songs for the movie.
At the same time , everyone is anticipating cans of worms to be opened as dark sides of her career is said to be visited , as done in the Aaliyah film. Rumored topics to be elaborated on in the movie are her issues with drugs, her messy relationship with Bobby Brown and a rumored lesbian relationship. And of course we all wonder if Lifetime will elaborate on the tragic ending of her life or leave us with a rushed ‘you already know the story’ ending as done in the Aaliyah movie.
Will you be watching Whitney or will you pass on this one and just remember Whitney as the person we all loved? What do you think about Lifetime making biopics?