Sony Pictures is bringing the heat and spirits of Diva, Whitney Houston back in Theater soon, now, the company has just unveiled a new trailer for a highly anticipated film, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
“The End of the F***ing World” star and London native Naomi Ackie will portray the legendary diva from Newark, New Jersey. She has a quite daunting task of portraying the legendary diva in the film, along with a cast that includes Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown and Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis. Clarke Peters will be playing John Houston, Whitney’s father, and Tamara Tunie will be portraying Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother.
Sony describes, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” is a powerful and triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Academy Award nominee Anthony McCarten, produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award winner Naomi Ackie.
The film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant—and so emotional—journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before.
She became an instant sensation with her self-titled debut album in 1985, which was released by Davis and Arista Records, she is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, from “Saving all My Love for You” in 1985 to “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” in 1988. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and 28 Guinness World Records.
“She’s been elevated in my life for so long that it felt like an impossible thing to achieve at times,” she tells PEOPLE. “But so many people told me the same thing: If I wasn’t scared and nervous, they’d think something was wrong with me. … The biggest challenge was letting my fear of the magnitude of this task take a back seat.
Nothing good comes from sitting in fear for too long.
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She also made a transition into acting, playing alongside Kevin Costner in 1992’s romantic drama “The Bodyguard,” which had a commercial success despite negative reviews from the critics. Houston later played the Fairy Godmother in “Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” and produced the Disney movies “The Princess Diaries” and “The Cheetah Girls.” But in 2012, Houston prematurely died at age 48 from drowning in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub.