Ashton Sanders – who is best known for his role in Oscar-winning film Moonlight – is set to play Bobby Brown in the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic.
The 25-year-old actor will be joining East London’s rising star Naomi Ackie who will be playing the lead in the film about the late legendary singer Whitney titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
Kasi Lemmons – who is best known for directing 2019 biopic Harriet – is set to helm the film as Oscar-nominated writer Anthony McCarten is set to write the script.
Inspired: Ashton Sanders – who is best known for his role in Oscar-winning film Moonlight – is set to play Bobby Brown in the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic
Tumultuous romance: Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are seen in Las Veas back in May 2003
Ashton is best known for his work starring as the teen version of the protagonist in Moonlight, named Chiron, in the film which earned three Oscars including Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali, Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry Jenkins, and top honor Best Picture.
Bobby and Whitney’s tumultuous relationship was always under media scrutiny as it was marred by infidelity, domestic violence, and drug use.
The two had met at the Soul Train Awards in 1989 and formed a friendship which developed into a romance.
Leading lady: The 25-year-old actor will be joining East London’s rising star Naomi Ackie (pictured in Paris back in March 2020) who will be playing the lead in the film about the late legendary singer Whitney titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Dynamic duo: Kasi Lemmons (left) – who is best known for directing 2019 biopic Harriet – is set to helm the film as Oscar-nominated writer Anthony McCarten is set to write the script
Iconic: Ashton is best known for his work starring as the teen version of the protagonist in Moonlight, named Chiron, in the film which earned three Oscars including Best Picture
They were engaged in 1991 when a 22-year-old Brown proposed to a 27-year-old Houston before marrying at Houston’s estate on July 18, 1992. They welcomed daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown the following year.
In the early 2000s the personal issues in their marriage were often lampooned on talk shows and sketch comedy shows like MadTV.
In 2003, Brown was charged with battery after an altercation with Houston before their personal life was scrutinized even more when the couple participated in reality show Being Bobby Brown in 2005.
Sad: Bobby and Whitney’s tumultuous relationship was always under media scrutiny as it was marred by infidelity, domestic violence, and drug use, as they are seen in the Bahamas back in December 2000
Ultimately, Houston filed for legal separation in September 2006 before the divorce was finalized in April 2007 with Houston receiving custody of their daughter.
Whitney was found dead in a bathtub of a Beverly Hilton hotel room in 2012 at just 48-years old.
Then years later their daughter Bobbi Kristina was unresponsive, found face-down in a bathtub in her Georgia home on January 31, 2015 and was placed in a medically induced coma after being rushed to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.
She never regained consciousness and died at Peachtree Christian Hospice care in Duluth, Georgia on July 26, 2015, less than six-months later.
Happier days: They were engaged in 1991 when a 22-year-old Brown proposed to a 27-year-old Houston before marrying at Houston’s estate on July 18, 1992. They welcomed daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown the following year, the family are seen in August 2004
A toxicology report found marijuana, alcohol, ‘a cocaine-related substance,’ anti-anxiety medication, and morphine in her system at the time of her accident.
Coroners determined the cause of death to be drowning, and effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.
I wanna Dance With Somebody is set to be released by Sony and TriStar Pictures on December 23, 2022.
East London’s finest: Back in December it was announced that Ackie is set to play Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance With Somebody musical biopic (pictured in February, 2020)
Legendary: Whitney, regarded as the most awarded female singer in history, tragically died of a drug overdose and drowning at age 48 in 2012, (pictured in 2004)
In December it was reported that Ackie had landed the starring role as Whitney Houston in Sony TriStar’s musical biopic.
The actress, 28, the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Grenada, famously played Jannah in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.
The biopic will be a part of a ‘no holds barred’ look on the late icon’s life and legacy and Naomi is said to have impressed bosses with her ‘ability to capture the presence of a global icon’.
Notably, the project has received backing from Houston’s estate and long-time boss, record executive Clive Davis.
Coming soon: After a bidding war between studios and streaming platforms, Sony’s TriStar Pictures won the rights for the biopic – Naomi in 2019, (left), Whitney in 2008, (right)
ES report that Naomi was born and raised in London’s E17 postcode and lived with her parents, older brother and sister.
Her father is a retired Transport For London employee and her mother, who sadly died a few years ago, worked for the NHS.
She told the publication: ‘Proper public sector, proper working class.’
Naomi said she fell in love with theatre after playing a rapping angel Gabriel at school, aged 11.
In 2017, the disillusioned star was working at London West End’s immersive Crystal Maze experience and made a pact with herself to do something drastic.
She told ES in her East London twang: ‘I said to myself, I have to quit this side job and give myself a year of not doing any other work on top of whatever acting jobs I can get.
‘And if I turn 27 and things have not kicked off, then I need to let this go and figure something else out,’ before quickly landing the Star Wars role.
She said that playing Jannah, one of the first prominent Black female characters in such a movie had a positive impact.
She said she has had messages from people thanking her for wearing her natural hair on Star Wars because their little girls, who have been down on their natural hair, are feeling great after seeing her.
Naomi won a British Independent Film Award for her role in 2016 movie Lady Macbeth and has also starred in Yardie and Education.
The beauty famously burst into tears back in July when she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the BAFTA Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards.
She took home the award for her role as Bonnie in the End Of The F***ing World, beating Helena Bonham Carter to the top spot.
Left in complete shock by the win, Naomi began to tear up as she gushed: ‘What? oh my God! Oh man, are you serious?’
In shock: TV BAFTAs 2020: Naomi burst into tears as she beat Helena Bonham Carter for Best Supporting Actress and gushed the win has made ‘lockdown so much better’ in July
Naomi’s star is set to rise further after Sony’s TriStar Pictures won the rights for the biopic of the life and tragic death of Houston.
The project, titled after Whitney’s massive 1987 hit, was penned by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten.
McCarten has a knack for writing acclaimed biopics – he is the screenwriter responsible for Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Theory Of Everything.
All three of those films – about the lives of Winston Churchill, Freddie Mercury and Stephen Hawking, respectively – led to major Oscar wins in the acting category for Gary Oldman, Rami Malek and Eddie Redmayne.
Empowering: Naomi said that playing Jannah, one of the first prominent Black female characters in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, had a positive impact (film still)
Himself a four-time Academy Award nominee, McCarten reportedly self-financed a life rights option to be able to tell Whitney’s story, and he wrote the script on spec while also lining up the rights to be able to include Houston’s unforgettable music.
Whitney, regarded as the most awarded female singer in history, tragically died of a drug overdose and drowning at age 48 in 2012.
The fact that her family and estate are on board and a part of I Wanna Dance With Somebody is huge, as that has historically been the largest hurdle for many a biopic to clear before entering production.
Legendary record producer Clive Davis, who was one of Whitney’s mentors during her life, as well as Pat Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law, are signed up as producers on the film, with the latter acting on behalf of the How Will I Know songbird’s estate.
Accolade: She won a BAFTA in July 2020 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bonnie in the End Of The F***ing World, beating Helena Bonham Carter to the top spot
‘From all my personal and professional experience with Whitney from her late teenage years to her tragic, premature death, I know the full Whitney Houston story has not yet been told,’ said Davis, 88, of the upcoming film.
‘I am so glad that Anthony McCarten has committed to a no holds barred, musically rich screenplay that finally reveals the whole Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she bravely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.’
The Everything, Everything director is on board to helm the movie, referring to Whitney in a previous statement to Deadline as ‘peerless.’
‘Her voice continues to give me courage,’ she continued. ‘Thank you to [executives] Tom [Rothman], Josh [Greenstein] and Nicole [Brown] at Sony and TriStar Pictures for joining our team to lift Whitney up with love around the world.’
Two years away: I Wanna Dance With Somebody is currently slated for a Thanksgiving 2022 release date, (Whitney pictured in 2012)