See Naomi Ackie As Whitney Houston in First Trailer for Biopic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’
Stanley Tucci also makes his debut as Clive Davis.
The first trailer is out for I Wanna Dance With Somebody, an upcoming Whitney Houston biopic. Slated to premiere this December, Sony bills the film as “no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice.”
Naomi Ackie stars in the feature as the iconic American singer. The actress is known for her role as Bonnie in Netflix’s popular drama series The End of the F***ing World, among other projects.
Alongside Ackie, Stanley Tucci portrays record producer and executive Clive Davis, who is credited with helping launch Houston’s career. The real Clive Davis, meanwhile, is serving as a producer on the film.
Additional cast members include Ashton Sanders as Houston’s husband, Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie as her mother and Clarke Peters as her father. Nafessa Williams will play the singer’s close friend and assistant, Robyn Crawford.
The trailer hones in on Houston’s rise to stardom after being scouted by Davis, and eventually being the target of critics, with one man telling her that her music “isn’t Black enough.”
“Look, I don’t know how to sing Black, and I don’t know how to sing white either. I know how to sing,” Houston retorts.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody is directed by Kasi Lemmons with a script penned by Bohemian Rhapsody writer Anthony McCarten.
Watch the trailer for I Wanna Dance With Somebody ahead of its debut in theaters on December 21.
In other entertainment news, Evan Peters stars as Jeffrey Dahmer in Ryan Murphy’s Monster trailer.
