Bassett on Whitney biopic: ‘We won’t drag her through muck’
By Josh Haggis
Angela Bassett has revealed that the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic she is directing will not include the late singer’s death.
Titled Whitney Houston, the film will air next year on US cable network Lifetime, and will follow Houston’s incredible rise as a singer and actress while also chronicling her rocky marriage to R&B star Bobby Brown.
America’s Next Top Model alumnus YaYa DaCosta has recently been cast as the My Love Is Your Love singer, who accidentally drowned in her bathtub in February 2012.
When asked whether the film will include a death scene, Bassett told Entertainment Weekly: “No. That’s one of the things I do appreciate about the story at least, with this first story about her. We’re not interested in dragging her life again through, you know, the muck.”
“She had to play out her choices, and the consequences of them, in a very hot, glaring spotlight, but we’re not interested in dragging that through again,” she added.
Bassett starred alongside Houston in the cult 1995 film Waiting To Exhale, and explained that she got to know the singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown while on set.
“He wasn’t loud. He wasn’t over the top,” said Bassett. “He wasn’t a showboat. He was grounded. His energy felt grounded and serious and supportive and loving. Without trying.”
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