Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Brandy considered for Whitney Houston biopic: report

Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Brandy and Vivica Fox are all being considered to play Whitney Houston in a biopic helmed by record label executive Clive Davis, reports say.

According to the Daily Mail, while the timing of such a project might seem ill-conceived, the biopic has actually been in the works for a long time. The newspaper reports that Davis -- a close friend of Houston's who eulogized the singer at her funeral -- is looking to finalize a script soon.

SONY PICTURES IN ALL-OUT RUSH TO GET 'SPARKLE' IN THEATERS

"Whitney knew about the project and was excited to see where it would lead," a source told People UK. "It’s hoped the biopic will be as successful as Tina Turner movie 'What’s Love Got To Do With It,' which landed two Oscar nominations for Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne who played Tina and Ike Turner."

Read more: If the biopic moves forward, Hudson seems like the most obvious choice to play Houston, having proven her acting skills with an Oscar-winning debut performance in "Dreamgirls." Furthermore, Hudson was the person Houston's family asked to pay tribute to Houston at the Grammy Awards, just a night after her death, with a moving rendition of "I Will Always Love You."

However, Brandy -- who starred in a 1997 version of "Cinderella" -- is the singer who might push the hardest for the role. Just weeks before Houston's death, the singer, whose full name is Brandy Norwood, said that she would love to play Houston onscreen.

"My dream role would be to play Whitney Houston," Brandy told the website TrueExclusives. "Of course she would have to sing all the songs. But I would love to play Ms. Whitney. I have her personality down pat, her ‘isms’ down pat. Like no offense ladies — it’s a lot of talented ladies there — but nobody can play Whitney like me."

Brandy's brother, Ray J, was reported to be Houston's on-again-off-again boyfriend at the time of her death.

Sparks of "American Idol" also has a claim to the role. Sparks stars opposite Houston in "Sparkle," Houston's final film, which will be in theaters on Aug. 17. In the movie, a remake of a 1976 film, Sparks plays one of Houston's three daughters who form a vocal group.

Rihanna, though reported to be a favorite for the role, may not even be open to taking it. The "We Found Love" singer shot down rumors last year that she was signing on for a remake of Houston's classic with Kevin Costner, "The Bodyguard."

"Absolutely not," Rihanna told OK! magazine. "I hate it when singers do singing movies all the time, because you can never look at them as anybody else. I want to play a character. My whole life is playing Rihanna, [so] being a singer [in a film] won't be a stretch for me. I like challenges, and being an actor is playing a role, being able to step into somebody else's shoes, that's the excitement."

While several names are reportedly being floated for the role of adult Houston, the Daily Mail names only one who is being considered to play a young Houston in the film -- Willow Smith, daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who had a hit with "Whip My Hair" in 2010

"Sparkle", Whitney Houston's Final Film Premieres

NEW YORK — Viewers got a first glimpse of Whitney Houston's upcoming film Monday when NBC's "Today" show premiered a trailer for the much-awaited release, and a fuller clip debuted on Yahoo! Movies.

A remake of the 1976 original, "Sparkle" stars Houston as the mother of three girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and drug addiction. The trailer displayed the daughters, including "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, in performance. Houston is prominent throughout, at one point singing the classic gospel song "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."

She also tells one of her daughters: "I always knew you had the gift. It makes me feel like I did something right. Don't lose it."

Debra Martin Chase, who is a producer of the film, said she had mixed emotions with the trailer's release; the movie is scheduled for release Aug. 17.

"On the one hand, I'm so excited about the movie and we're really happy with how it turned out," she said in a phone interview Monday. "(But) just to have it said yet again that this is Whitney's last performance, it's hard. It's hard."

Houston is listed as the executive producer of the movie, which had already finished filming in Detroit when the superstar died Feb. 11 at 48 in Beverly Hills, Calif., on the eve of the Grammy Awards. An autopsy has shown she accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.

There is no mention made of drugs in the trailer, and Chase declined to say whether it would be a focal part of the movie as it was in the original, saying she didn't want to talk specifically about the plotlines until closer to the movie's release date.

She also added that the movie was not altered to increase Houston's time in the film in the wake of her death.

"She is an integral, very much an integral part of the movie, but she's not one of the girls," she said. "She plays an important role, she's throughout the movie, but she's not one of the main characters."

Chase echoed other people involved with the movie who praised Houston's professionalism on the set. The movie was seen as a comeback vehicle for the star, whose career had waned over the years due to battles with drugs and alcohol.

"She was healthy, happy, on time every day, hung out on set when she wasn't working because she loved the cast," said Chase, who also declined to talk about the circumstances of Houston's death. "She had fun, her spirit buoyed everybody every day."

Houston had worked to get "Sparkle" to the screen for 12 years. It was her first movie since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife" and 20 years removed from her debut in the blockbuster movie "The Bodyguard," which was rereleased for one night last week.

"Whitney loved this movie very much. This was her idea," Chase said. "The great thing for me as her friend and her producing partner is that this movie will be an essential part of her legacy. ... It's the best performance of her life; she knew it at the time. She looked beautiful on camera and she enjoyed every minute making the movie."

Courtesy The Huffington Post