Over the last three decades many attempts have been made to produce a Marvin Gaye biopic, but none have been successful due to disapproval from the late singer’s family.
The 2013 film “Sexual Healing” was the last attempt at producing a Marvin Gaye biopic. Lenny Kravitz was originally cast to star in the film but was later replaced by actor Jesse L. Martin. Due to lack of funds and family lawsuits, the movie stopped production three weeks before completion. Check out the trailer for that unreleased filmhere.
Jamie Foxx recently managed to gain the family’s approval and is set to executive produce a tv series about the singer’s life. Suzanne de Passe of Passe Jones Entertainment and Marvin Gaye III (Marvin Gaye’s son) will also serve as executive producers for the series. The film is said to be a powerful and defining telling of Marvin Gaye’s life.
The late singer is best known for his hit singles What’s Going On, Let’s Get It On, and Sexual Healing. In 1984 he was fatally shot by his father at age 44.
I’m a huge fan of music biopics so I’m excited to see this series! Jamie Foxx is very talented so I’m sure he won’t disappoint! What do you guys think about the upcoming series?
In the course of only three years actor Chadwick Boseman has starred in 2 biopics. He portrayed James Brown last year in the film Get On Up and in 2013 he portrayed legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson in the movie 42. Soon Boseman will add another biopic to his resume as he has been casted to play Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Thurgood Marshall was an active member of the NAACP and he was also a civil rights activist. The film is being directed by Reginald Hudlin and will focus on an early case in Marshalls’ career.
Although I’m excited about Boseman being selected for the film some critics believe that his casting in a third biopic shows the lack of support by Hollywood to seek out and employ qualified black actors. Initially after filming Get On Up, Boseman stated that he had no interest in starring in another biopic. We’re not sure what changed his mind but none the less I’m definitely looking forward to the film.
If you were expecting to get a more in depth look into the life of Whitney Houston after watching the biopic that premiered on Lifetime last weekend, than you probably felt unsatisfied.
A more appropriate title for the movie could have been The Whitney and Bobby Love Story as the movie focused more on the couple’s relationship rather than her actual music career. The movie also didn’t waste any time highlighting the late singer’s drug use. It seemed as though the director and writers wanted to humanize Whitney. People forget that at the end of the day despite how much money or fame a person obtains, they are still human just like everyone else. Whitney was adored by many and was placed on a pedestal so high that when she fell from grace people looked for someone to blame instead of holding her accountable for some of her actions. Unfortunately throughout the years majority of the blame was placed on her ex-husband Bobby Brown.
The movie showed a more vulnerable side to Brown which left many viewers feeling sympathetic towards him. People forget that Brown was 19 years old when he was first introduced to the star who was 26 at the time. The media over the years has painted Brown out to be the bad boy that brought Whitney’s career downhill and got her addicted to drugs. In contrast the movie shows that drugs were a part of the singer’s life well before Brown came into the picture. Shortly after Houston’s death Oprah Winfrey sat down for an interview with Whitney’s mom, Cissy and her brother Michael Brown. During the interview her brother took responsibility for introducing Whitney to drugs.
The casting for the movie was superb and the chemistry between Yaya DaCosta and Arlene Escarpeta was undeniable. The sex scenes in the film left little to the imagination but I believe the director’s point was to show how strong and passionate Whitney and Bobby’s love was for one another. These were two people who were madly and crazy in love with each other. Although their relationship at times became volatile, their love ran deep. DaCosta did a great job portraying Whitney’s mannerisms although her acting became a little too dramatic at times and the lip singing was very apparent. Arelene Escarpeta has starred in a few films but his portrayal of Bobby Brown in this movie could possibly be his break out role as he delivered the character’s emotion so convincingly. He was also giving the ladies some eye candy; the man is fine! 😉 Deborah Cox did an amazing job on the vocals. People always argue that no one will ever be able to sing like Whitney, which they won’t because Whitney was her own but you can’t deny that Deborah did a great job. At times during the movie her voice sounded very similar to the pop icon.
Overall the movie was good but it didn’t capture the true essence of Whitney Houston as it lacked what she was most known for which is her music. There was no way a 2 hour television movie could tell the full story of Whitney Houston, but it focused on an essential part of her life which gave viewers a new perspective. People seemed to have either loved the movie or hated it but we enjoyed it. Kudos to Angela Bassett for her directorial debut!
The Whitney Houston biopic “Whitney” is set to premiere this Saturday on Lifetime. After the failed attempt of the Aaliyah biopic, fans and viewers are skeptical about how this movie will be able to accurately portray the late singer’s life. Just like with the Aaliyah movie the family members of the late singer were not supportive of the making of the film. The family is reportedly very disappointed that Basset never reached out to the family regarding the film.
Pat Houston, president of the Whitney Houston Estate, released the following statement regarding the film:
Since no one from the immediate family was contacted, nor have seen the film, we cannot help but question the veracity of a story about Whitney and Bobby’s personal relationship. Her life story – even a portion – should be dominated by people who value the merit of her life, not by a group that chose to present the weakest cycle of her life. Unfortunately, there’s nothing inspiring, liberating or uplifting about this project.”
Last summer when it was announced that the film was being produced, Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobby Kristina took to her twitter page to vent her anger and disapproval over the fact that she wasn’t cast to play her mother. The movie is being directed by actress Angela Basset who will be making her directorial debut. Basset was a casual friend of Houston and also starred in the movie “Waiting To Exhale” with her in the 90’s. Former “America’s Top Model” contestant Yaya DaCosta who also starred in “The Butler” will be portraying the late singer and actor Arlen Escarpeta will be portraying Whitney’s ex-husband Bobby Brown.
Yaya DaCosta and Arlen Escarpeta as Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
The movie will chronicle the singer’s rise to fame between the years of 1989 through 1994 and will also focus on Whitney’s relationship with Bobby Brown. Basset was pleased with the script for the biopic but was disappointed that Whitney’s spirituality was omitted because she says it was a key component of who she was as a person.
She released the following statement regarding her role as director for the film and honoring Whitney’s legacy:
“The role of director is a tremendous responsibility. I put my faith in the actors and serve them. In this movie, you’ll see the ‘home Whitney,’ the ‘glam Whitney.’ I fight every day to get it as right as we can. You want to honor their humanity. Whitney Houston was on the highest pedestal and she fell the furthest. She was an incredible artist and human being.”
The biopic “Whitney” will premiere on Lifetime this Saturday, January 17th at 8pm ET/PT. Check out the latest trailer here. Sources: ABC News; The Source This article was also featured on entnews.tv.
Try Again, the title of a hit track by the late singer Aaliyah ironically also describes the internet reactions from many of the fans who watched the movie that premiered on Lifetime Saturday night. As an Aaliyah fan, I was very disappointed by what I saw, but based on all of the controversy surrounding the movie from the beginning of filming, I didn’t have high expectations for the film.
I just don’t know where to begin with everything that went wrong with the movie. A huge issue that a lot of the fans had was the casting choices for the film. Originally Disney star Zendaya Coleman was cast to play Aaliyah. She caught hell from outraged fans who felt she looked nothing like the late star. Of course the race card was brought up and the media twisted the story to imply that fans felt that Zendaya wasn’t “black enough” to play Aaliyah despite her being biracial. I shared the sentiments of most fans who felt it was Zendaya’s lack of resemblance to Aaliyah rather than her skin complexion that was the problem. They just didn’t look anything alike. Alexandra Shipp, another young star who is also biracial eventually snagged the role after Zendaya decided to pull out of the movie. Zendaya explained that her decision had nothing to do with Aaliyah’s outraged fans but more to do with the shady production of the movie itself.
Aaliyah (left) Zendaya Coleman (right)
Aaliyah (left) Alexandra Shipp (right)
Chattrisse Dolabaille (top left) was cast to play Missy Elliot (top right) and Izaak Smith (bottom left) was cast to play Timbaland (bottom right)
That brings me to the next issue I had with the movie. The family of Aaliyah stated years ago that they didn’t want a movie to be made about her life, so they had no involvement with the Lifetime movie production. Because of this producers weren’t able to gain access to the music rights of Aaliyah which is why the movie contained no original music. That fact alone was the set up for a movie doomed for failure. With no input from family and friends, the writers based the movie solely off of a book about Aaliyah titled Aaliyah: More Than a Woman which was written in 2001. Additional details in the movie were just fabrications of what the private star’s life was probably like. How can you accurately portray the life of a person without any input from the people who were a part of her life? The movie wasn’t even worthy enough to be called a biopic. I think Aaliyah fans were cheated because nothing about the movie embodied Aaliyah. Her mannerisms, style, persona, and sound were recreated. It was a bootleg version of the original Aaliyah and nothing about the movie felt authentic.
When gossip queen Wendy Williams jumped on board as an executive producer for the movie I knew things would only get worse. Wendy was adamant about shining light on the alleged relationship between the R&B star and singer/producer R. Kelly. When she was only 15 it was rumored that Aaliyah and at the time a 28 year old R. Kelly secretly wed. Besides a discovered marriage certificate, the matter was never addressed or publicized by either Kelly or Aaliyah who both denied the rumors. To focus so much of the movie on the alleged relationship was just disrespectful to the family, friends, and fans of Aaliyah. I think the movie did more harm than good to her image.
Honestly I think it would have been better if a movie was never made; if you’re not going to tell the story right, don’t tell it at all. There has been talk that another big screen movie is in the works about the star’s life but I think it’s unnecessary at this point. The only reason I would want to see another Aaliyah movie is just so a more accurate portrayal of her life could be shown. Just let fans remember the image they had of Aaliyah, and for those who want more insight into who exactly the R&B princess was, there are enough interview clips and music on the internet to give a clearer picture than what the movie depicted.
RIP Baby Girl
“It’s hard to say what I want my legacy to be when I’m long gone. I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person.” ~Aaliyah
The internet memes and commentary throughout the movie from fans were hilarious. Music producer and friend to Aaliyah, Timbaland even jumped on instagram to post his thoughts about the movie that he referred to as some bull sh#t! Check out some highlights below.
