How will we know
The untimely death of Whitney Houston in 2012, aged just 48, prompted several attempts to reconcile her supreme singing talent and 80s/90s mega-fame with her sad decline. Nick Broomfield’s well-received 2017 documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me was followed by the succinctly titled Whitney, Kevin Macdonald’s authorised documentary. Now comes the inevitable biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, with English actor Naomi Ackie playing the lead.
Bayou tapestry
The film is directed by Kasi Lemmons, who in 2019 made a “rousing and heartfelt” biopic of the abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Her directorial debut came in the spellbinding 1997 southern gothic drama Eve’s Bayou, with Samuel L Jackson and Lynn Whitfield.
Star crossed
You can go in any direction with Jackson – jumping to early collaborator Spike Lee, say. Lee takes us to the great musician Terence Blanchard, who has long worked with the director, but also became the first Black composer to have a work staged by New York’s Metropolitan Opera (it only took 138 years) – the libretto for Fire Shut Up In My Bones was written by one Kasi Lemmons. But let’s stay with Jackson, and jump to the Star Wars universe, which he was a part of in the prequel trilogy.
Kasdan strikes back
Everyone gets drawn into Star Wars enterprises – including Naomi Ackie (The Rise of Skywalker). Back in the early days, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (later returning for The Force Awakens and Solo). Star Wars kicked off a huge decade of success for Kasdan as a writer and director, including in various roles, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Big Chill.
One moment in time
Which brings us up to 1992, and a Kasdan script that began life in the 70s. Eventually The Bodyguard was made by English director Mick Jackson with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Propelled by Houston’s sky-scraping cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, the film and song cemented her superstar status.
Pairing notes
Read A recent book, Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defence of Whitney Houston by Gerrick Kennedy, reassesses the singer’s life. (Or you could just put on the hits and let her rip. “And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII … !”)
Eat In the upcoming biopic, Stanley Tucci plays music mogul Clive Davis. The actor is also the foodie author of The Tucci Cookbook – a recent Instagram offering came via his mother: chicken livers and hearts, peppers, onion and “a little marinara”. Chef’s kiss.
