Taking the stage in theaters at the tail end of 2022, the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” is a crowd-pleasing homage to the life, legacy, and work of an icon who sold over 200 million records worldwide.

One of the year’s last films is also one of the best as a shared theatrical experience.

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Developed with the full support of her family, while not leaning hard into the darker moments of her life and the singer’s tragic end, it certainly does not shy away from those moments that you might expect Hollywood to soften or ignore.

Continue reading ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Review: The Whitney Houston Biopic Is Worth Making A Song And Dance About at The Playlist.

“Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others imprinted indelibly on the brain,” says the film’s narrator, voiced by Tamara Tunie. Kasi Lemmons’ eerie, Southern Gothic directorial feature debut, “Eve’s Bayou,” is as elusive twenty-five years later as it was in 1997. 

It concerns Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett), the youngest daughter of the respected and popular doctor Louis Batiste (Samuel L Jackson).

Continue reading ‘Eve’s Bayou’: Kasi Lemmons On Her Classic Southern Gothic Breakout Now On Criterion [Interview] at The Playlist.

The story of superstar singer Whitney Houston is ultimately one about tragedy. Gone well before her time, one of the world’s brightest stars and greatest singers of all time still was able to leave an indelible mark on the world, which is shown in the new film, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

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As seen in the trailer for the film, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” stars Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston, a woman who exploded on the music scene in the ‘80s after people became transfixed with her incredible voice.

Continue reading ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ Trailer: Kasi Lemmons’ Whitney Houston Biopic Arrives This Christmas at The Playlist.

Putting together the 100 Most Anticipated Films list is a beast in any year. Still, in the new accelerated age of streaming with HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon, Netflix, and all the new players popping up every single day, it seems, the task becomes more and more daunting and nearly impossible (we could have easily gone to 200 this year).

So we’re post-COVID, but oops, not-yet post-COVID, but somehow movies have survived, even if the theatrical market becomes a more challenging and riskier gambit.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022 at The Playlist.

Sony Pictures and TriStar have been developing a biopic feature film with director Stella Meghie based on singer and sometimes-actress Whitney Houston titled “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and have now selected an actress to play the lead role.

Deadline now reveals that “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” actress Naomi Ackie has landed the part of Whitney Houston.

Continue reading Naomi Ackie To Play Iconic Singer Whitney Houston In Biopic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ at The Playlist.