Jersey Girl’s Biopic Trailer #2 is Here [Watch]
American singer and actress Whitney Houston (1963 - 2012) looks over the picket fence of her mother's home, West Orange, New Jersey, May 28, 1985. (Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)
The long-awaited second trailer for Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody has arrived and shows her taking charge of her life and career.
The trailer starts with Whitney, played by British actress Naomi Ackie, reacting to a radio host relaying criticism that her music “isn’t Black enough.” “Who said that? That’s just bull and it makes me angry, actually,” Ackie’s Whitney responds. “That’s just hateful and uninformed.” She then offers what the critics are actually saying, which is, “She’s not obedient enough” or “fearful enough.” “Music is not a color to me. It has no boundaries. I sing what I want to sing. Be how I wanna be,” she continues as scenes from her 1991 Super Bowl performance, where she belted out the “Star Spangled Banner,” flash across the screen.
The tone continues with Whitney falling in love with Bobby Brown, played by Ashton Sanders, and butting heads with her father, John Houston, who’s played by Clarke Peters. Her father, who also served as her talent manager, voices his opposition to her romance because “it’s damaging the brand.”
“Since when did your little girl become a brand? I missed that,” Ackie’s Whitney fumes. There is also a scene showing Whitney cradling her newborn daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
I Wanna Dance with Somebody is directed by Kasi Lemmons and written by Anthony McCarten, who penned the Oscar-winning Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie arrives in theaters on December 23rd.
“The greatest voice of our time has an even greater story,” the movie’s official synopsis reads. “Discover the Whitney Houston you never knew.”
Whitney Houston’s talent was discovered by record executive Clive Davis who is also an executive producer of the film. Clive was also a good friend and genuinely cared about Whitney, so it’s expected that the biopic is being presented gracefully and respectfully.
Whitney accidentally drowned in her hotel bathtub in 2012; drugs were found in her system. She was 48.
Angela Bassett's 9 Best Roles in Film and TV
Angela Bassett has had an illustrious acting career, spanning as far back as the ’80s. Since then, the actress has received numerous accolades for her work on film and television.
Following her minor role as Reva Styles in 1991’s Boyz n the Hood, Bassett had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in numerous acclaimed and successful films, including her role as Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X (1992) and recently played the role of Queen Ramonda in Marvel’s Black Panther (2018) and its sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
On television, Bassett’s portrayal of Rosa Parks in the television film The Rosa Parks Story (2002), garnered her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2013, Bassett had a recurring role on the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story: Coven, returning as a series regular for season four, Freak Show, portraying Desiree Dupree; season five, Hotel, as Ramona Royale; season six, Roanoke, as Monet Tumusiime; and finally, in season eight Apocalypse, resprising her role as Marie Laveau in a guest role. In 2018, Bassett began producing and starring in the Fox first responder drama series 9-1-1, playing LAPD patrol sergeant Athena Grant.
With over 100 acting credits under her belt, Bassett shows no signs of slowing down as she is in her 60s now. She is a face we love to see on our screens, big and small, with her charismatic and intense personality.
See our 9 favorite Angela Bassett roles in film and television below:
Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.
