14 DAY TRIAL // Lifetime is tapping hard into the biopics niche, but results so far have been less than encouraging. Most films on the lives of the rich and famous the network has made and aired so far were critical disasters, even though they had solid ratings, mostly because fans at home hate-watched them.
“Whitney,” the upcoming biopic on Whitney Houston, promises to be a tad better. “Promising” is actually a word I’d use in connection to it, based on the first trailer released – and available in full below.
Of course, we all know better than to judge a book by its cover and a movie by its trailer, but compared to previous projects like “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B” and the much more mediated and derided “Liz & Dick,” which was supposed to be Lindsay Lohan’s big comeback, “Whitney” actually looks good.
The role of the iconic singer, who died of an OD in 2012, is played by Yaya DaCosta, while Bobby Brown, Whitney’s ex-husband, is played by Arlen Escarpeta. The film is directed and produced by Angela Bassett, who was one of Whitney’s best friends and who promised a while back that it would be respectful to her legacy on all counts.
Still, the Houston family has not signed off on the biopic, so it’s not an authorized film. Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina (Krissy) famously attacked Bassett on Twitter, saying she was no friend of her mother’s but just someone who was trying to leech on her.
Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston, also criticized Lifetime for making the film and refused to let them use Whitney’s songs. Fans weren’t that happy about it either, saying Whitney had been too important a figure to get a made-for-TV biopic and that she deserved the big screen treatment.
Lifetime has gone up against all odds and is moving forward with “Whitney.” Below is the trailer: check it out and see for yourself if it’s something you’d like to watch in full when it premieres on the network on January 17.
