The upcoming Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody has found its Clive Davis: Stanley Tucci is set to portray the legendary music man in the film about the late singer.
According to a report by Deadline, the veteran actor will star opposite the previously announced Naomi Ackie as Houston. As fans know, Davis was the exec to discover the then-unknown singer, signing her to Arista Records at the age of 19 and proving instrumental in turning her into a superstar.
After guiding her career, Davis and Houston remained close all the way up until her tragic death in 2012 from an accidental overdose. In fact, the singer passed away the night before the record exec’s annual pre-Grammys party in 2012, which she had been expected to attend. Much like the Grammys that followed, the exclusive gala turned into an A-list tribute to her memory, with Davis offering emotional remarks about the loss of his friend and collaborator at the evening’s start.
I Wanna Dance with Somebody will be directed by Kasi Lemmons with a script written by Anthony McCarten, and is being co-produced by Whitney’s sister-in-law Pat Houston on behalf of the singer’s estate. (For her part, Pat also served as Whitney’s manager starting in the early 2000s.)
In addition to the biopic, a remake of Houston’s 1992 romance-drama The Bodyguard is also in the works at Warner Bros., while a hologram residency of the star, titled “An Evening With Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert,” is headed to Sin City for a six-month stint at Harrah’s Las Vegas beginning October 26th.
Meanwhile, Tucci — whose delicious travel series Stanley Tucci: Search for Italy is currently streaming on HBO Max — revealed earlier this month that he privately beat cancer after being diagnosed in 2018.
