TriStar Pictures today unveiled the first trailer for its Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, starring BAFTA Award winner Naomi Ackie (Master of None), which is slated for release in theaters on Wednesday, December 21. Check out the trailer above and the poster below.
The musical drama from director Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) is billed as a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational and emotional journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before.
Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything) wrote the film, which also stars Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (Supernova) as legendary music executive Clive Davis, Ashton Sanders (Moonlight) as Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie (See) as Cissy Houston, Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning) as Robyn Crawford and BAFTA Award nominee Clarke Peters (The Man Who Fell to Earth) as John Houston. McCarten and Davis produced the pic alongside Pat Houston, Larry Mestel, Denis O’Sullivan, Jeff Kalligheri, Matt Jackson, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill, Matt Salloway and Christina Papagjika.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody is set to open against Universal Pictures’ animated feature Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén and more. Other upcoming films from TriStar include the historical epic The Woman King starring Viola Davis, which is set for release on September 16, following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and an upcoming adaptation of the 1988 Roald Dahl children’s novel Matilda, debuting in the U.S. on December 9.
