#Whitney houston lifetime movie premiere how to

SingerВ Deborah CoxВ re-recorded HoustonвЂ™s songs for the movie, so what was your experience of lip-syncing like? So that was something surprising that was nice to see, and we included some of that in the film. In my research, I saw a lot of live performances of her on tour with a higher energy, fun being had, greater physicality, and lots more dancing. When I watched her perform as a kid, I remembered how poised she was, and a lot of the performances that aired on television were at awards show or at venues where she was pretty much standing still and singing a ballad. WhatвЂ™s the most surprising thing you learned about Houston through the process? There were little stories and anecdotes that helped bring her spirit to the set and helped inform my character. Sometimes on set in the middle of a scene sheвЂ™d remember something, or maybe IвЂ™d do something that reminded her of something that Whitney actually did.

#Whitney houston lifetime movie premiere how to

Since Bassett knew Houston personally, did she offer you any advice on how to portray her?ДЄbsolutely, it was lovely.

I showed up for work as an actor for hire and said my lines and did my best to capture the essence of Whitney. ThatвЂ™s a question for Shem Bitterman, the writer, and possibly the director. The Houston family has refused to give the movie their blessing. It was a very tactful choice and because of that choice, itвЂ™s a film that IвЂ™m proud to be of. People want to remember the good times and feel good about who she really was. Her passing was pretty recent, I think too recent to explore on the screen. What do you make of the decision to not include HoustonвЂ™s death? I didnвЂ™t sleep very much and I just immersed myself in her world as much as possible. Again, when I say a short amount of time, I mean days. I did a lot of research in a short amount of time, and it included reading articles and interviews, watching hours and hours of YouTube footage of interviews and performances, a lot of different things. So, how exactly did you prepare for the role? Understand that this is a Lifetime movie, and the benefit of that is that it reaches a lot of people who donвЂ™t necessarily go to the movie theater, who want to relive WhitneyвЂ™s life in the comfort of their own home. IвЂ™m sure had been in that scenario, I would have had the opportunity to try to contact someone. If it were a big budget feature, I would shoot it over a number of months and we would have more resources. With the time constraints and the lack of resources and the inability to access anybody - you have to understand that these are real people who lead private lives, and I actually wouldnвЂ™t know how to go about that in daysВ - it was literally get on the plane, make the movie. Read more Angela Bassett Talks Whitney HoustonВ BiopicВ onВ EmmysВ Red Carpet: вЂњControversy Can Be GoodвЂќДid you speak with anyone who knew Houston during the preparation process? I liked how the characters came across on the page, and I, of course, jumped at the opportunity to be directed by another one of my inspirations, Angela Bassett. But when it came time to decide if this was the project for me, and when it came down to the script and whose hands it was in, I liked the time period that the film is set in. I grew up listening to and knowing all the lyrics to her songs and singing them around the house. ItвЂ™s a woman whose stardom was larger than most stars in our lifetime. Not that I phone in anything, but it is a role that is bigger than any role that IвЂ™ve ever done. It was daunting because it was Whitney Houston. Read more Whitney HoustonвЂ™s Mom Blasts Lifetime Biopic: вЂLet Her RestвЂ™ 17 premiere, DeCosta opened up about how the lack of family support affected her role, the limitations of a television movie and whether sheвЂ™s open to playing Houston again. In fact, the singerвЂ™s mom, Cissy Houston, denounced the project last year: вЂњLifetime has chosen to go ahead with the movie about Whitney in spite of my familyвЂ™s objections,вЂќ read a statement.В вЂњNo one connected with this movie knew Whitney or anything about her relationship with Bobby.вЂќДЄhead of the Jan. TheyвЂ™ve been vocal about their disapproval of the project. Together, there is a palpable allure.вЂќД«assett, a first-time director who rose to fame for her portrayal of another pop icon, Tina Turner, in the 1993 film WhatвЂ™s Love Got to Do With It, pulled on the experience she had with Houston working together on the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale, where she also met Brown.Д«ut neither Bassett nor DeCosta had the HoustonвЂ™s family to turn to for background research. вЂњShe is beautiful, vivacious, giggling, and nearly sparkling in the movieвЂ™s first half. вЂњOne of the things that makes Whitney feel different is the strength and natural chemistry of its leads,В DaCosta and Escapeta,вЂќ The Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.