Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Whitney Houston’s last film, “Sparkle” hasn’t even hit movie theaters yet and there is already talk of turning the film into a book and possible Broadway musical.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Howard Rosenman, the original producer-writer and executive producer of the 2012 film production says that a book version of the movie’s story was sold six weeks ago to Simon & Schuster. The book is schedule to be released on August 7th, just 10 days before the film opens.
Rosenman is also said to be in pre-production talks for a full-scale Broadway musical version of the film including five new songs written by the original film music producer, the late Curtis Mayfield and R&B bad boy R. Kelly.
Rosenman shared how excited Houston was about the film and how much the original 1976 version influenced her career. The late singer is said to have watched the film every day for a week when she was a teenager.
It’s obvious this movie meant a lot to Houston. This was her second attempt at trying to bring an updated version of the movie to the silver screen. Her first attempt was during the mid-1990s when she had R&B singer Aaliyah in mind for the lead role of Sparkle. However, pre-production talks came to halt when Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 after shooting a music video.
Fast forward to 2011 and Houston found renewed interest in the film project. With a brand new cast featuring American Idol sweetheart Jordin Sparks in the lead role of Sparkle, filming commenced and was completed by year’s end. Unfortunately, Houston tragically passed away on February 11, just three months after post production of the film, never placing eyes on the final product.
I’m sure if Houston were alive today, she would be ecstatic over the pre-publicity and potential expansion of her vision. Sparkle opens in theaters nationwide on August 17.
Here is a sneak peek at the trailer…
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