First Trailer for Angela Bassett's Whitney Houston Biopic isn't So Bad

The words "Lifetime Original Movie" come with a certain low level of expectation, or at least they should. There have been enough terrible biopics aired by the network that viewers should know what they are in for. And yet, as we saw in the recent case of the film on late R&B singer, Aaliyah, her fans thought it would...well, not be the total piece of crap it turned out to be. Clearly they haven't been paying attention. So there has been just as much concern over Lifetime's upcoming film on Whitney Houston for a number of reasons, but now that the first trailer has arrived it doesn't look all that bad.

Simply titled Whitney, the film has rising star Yaya DaCosta in the title role, and she's one of the reasons for optimism. She doesn't look like Whitney Houston, then again she doesn't have to, but her performance does appear to be a confident, strong one. The singing, of which there does seem to be plenty, is performed by Deborah Cox. Arlen Escarpeta stars as Whitney's husband, Bobby Brown, with the film centering on their troubled relationship. Houston's friend and Waiting to Exhale co-star, Angela Bassett, is making her directorial debut and she doesn't seem to be pulling any punches, which may be why the singer's family isn't happy about it. They should be happy she isn't out to make some sensationalist piece of crap like some other directors would have.

Whitney will air on Lifetime January 17th.

Read More

First Looka at Yaya Dacosta and Arlen Escarpeta in Lifetime's Whitney Houston Biopic

Lifetime may have run into some problems (like the whole damn cast dropping out) with their Aaliyah biopic, but Angela Bassett's film on her friend Whitney Houston is progressing along without a hitch. Yaya Dacosta has been set to play the R&B icon with Arlen Escarpeta as her equally-troubled husband Bobby Brown, and now the New York Post has the first look at them both in the film.

Possibly Titled I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story (although some are still calling it "Whitney Houston"), the film will chronicle the tumultuous relationship between Houston and Brown, beginning with their first meeting in 1989. They were at the top of the world then, and after dating for awhile were married in 1992 before descending into drugs, bad career choices, and domestic altercations, practically all of which were captured in the short-lived reality show, Being Bobby Brown.  Another image released a few days ago by EW shows Dacosta recreating the cover to Houston's seminal 1987 album, "Whitney".

The film is expected to air in 2015.

Read More

Yaya DaCosta Alafia is Whitney Houston in Angela Bassett's Biopic

When Angela Bassett decided to make her directorial debut on a biopic of her late friend and Waiting to Exhale co-star, Whitney Houston, it made perfect sense that someone close to the singer would do it. The only question was if she would find an actress talented enough to fill Houston's shoes and meet what are probably Bassett's lofty expectations. But the search didn't last all that long as model/actress Yaya DaCosta Alafia is Bassett's choice to play Houston.

Yaya, who got her start on America's Next Top Model before making the move to acting in 2005, will star in the Lifetime Original Movie currently titled Whitney Houston. Yaya has been building up her resume quite nicely over the years, appearing opposite Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right, while also securing roles in Tron: Legacy, Mother of George, and Lee Daniels' The Butler. She'll be seen next in Rob Reiner's And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton.

The film is penned by  Shem Bitterman and Larry Sanitsky (both of Lifetime's Betty & Coretta) and will cover Houston's tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown and the early successes of her career. Houston met Brown in 1989 when she was 26 years old and at the beginnings of her amazing career, which was threatened by her volatile marriage three years later.

Still no word on who will play Brown in what promises to be an extremely showy role, like Laurence Fishburne in What's Love Got To Do With It showy. This could be a star-making turn for Yaya, one that earns her Emmy nominations and greater attention from Hollywood.

Read More