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Naomi Ackie
Photo: Karwai Tang / WireImage / Getty Images
The British Naomi Ackie is set to star in the planned biopic about music legend Whitney Houston.
You had an exhausting search for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" behind you, said director Stella Meghie in a message from which the US trade papers "Variety" and "Hollywood Reporter" quoted.
Ackie was convincing all along the line: "I was deeply moved by her ability to capture the stage presence of a world icon and at the same time the human side of her inner life," said the Canadian filmmaker.
The 28-year-old Ackie had previously played Jannah in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkers".
The biography, which is supposed to illuminate the entire career of the singer, is produced by Houston's estate administration and by the music producer Clive Davis, who once discovered the singer.
Houston's recordings are to be used in the film.
The script was written by the author Anthony McCarten ("Bohemian Rhapsody").
It was "uncompromising" and "rich in music," Davis said in April.
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Whitney Houston in July 1991
Photo: Boston Globe / Getty Images
Houston was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s.
Her albums sold millions of times.
The six-time Grammy award winner also celebrated success as an actress.
At the side of Kevin Costner she starred in the love film "Bodyguard" in 1992, for which she also delivered songs like "I Will Always Love You".
The musician was found dead in a hotel room in Beverly Hills in February 2012 at the age of 48.
The film is named after the hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody".
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