I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY Whitney Houston Biopic to be helmed by Black, Female Director Stella Meghie

Filmmaker Stella Meghie (Jean of the Joneses, Everything, Everything , The Weekend, The Photograph ) is shaking up Hollywood. Now, a newly minted Academy member with four films under her belt, this writer-director is taking on an ambitious new project: Whitney Houston’s life story!

“It’s so strange to think that the teen girl with ‘I’m Every Woman’ playing over and over in her head, running down the hallway, now gets to direct the movie about Whitney’s life. That is very surreal.”

The film, titled I Wanna Dance With Somebody, (screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody) has not yet been cast, but shooting is slated to begin next spring. Sony Pictures picked it up for distribution this week, announcing a Thanksgiving 2022 release.

“I think this is the film I’ll probably get off Twitter for because she belongs to so many people in their hearts,” Stella admitted. “I feel a great deal of responsibility to do right by her, do right by her family, and by the fans whose lives she’s changed and been there for. You just want to believe that when the movie has been finished, if she was still here, I would be happy for her to come and see it. That’s my guiding light.”

READ MORE about how Stella found her way to screenwriting and directing… @TheAcademy

I’ve seen Meghie’s Everything, Everything teen, ill-health romance genre.  I liked it but never wrote a review.  Gonna check out her debut film and the 3rd one.  Here’s my review of THE PHOTOGRAPH starring Issa Rae & Lakeith Stanfield