As we speak, Angela Bassett, who did such a great job as the long stemmed human God Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got To Do With It” is directing Yaya Dacosta as Whitney and Arlen Escarpata as Bobby Brown in the Lifetime Movie version of the tragic “How will I Know?” singer’s life, “Whitney”.
Whitney Houston started with the career other people dream, seven consecutive hit singles, but
It begs an answer to a couple of questions, you know, not least of which is: why is this a made for TV movie and not a major motion picture and also, if TV had to handle it, why not HBO because, try as they might, to be true to Whitney Houston’s drug riddled decline and fall, this needs to be an “R” rated tragedy.
Lifetime will be OK with the roamcne, less good with the music, and a little baffled as to how to handle the drugs.
As for Yaya. In 2004 she was first runner up on America’s top Model and since then has appeared in minor roles in major movies like “The Butler” and “And So It Goes” but this is a real biggie for her and if she can’t sing (and nothing I’ve read makes it apear otherwise) she might have her hands full. Also Basset is a first time director -it is all very “Great Adventure”, right? A disaster waiting to happen.
Whether they can pull it off is a question mark, but one thing seems certain, Yaya and Arlen look the part.