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Movies & TV

12th Nov 2022

New music biopic could be this year’s answer to Bohemian Rhapsody

Stephen Porzio

I Wanna Dance with Somebody

It’s from the writer of the Freddie Mercury biopic.

A new trailer hit the web this week for I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a music biopic based on the life of legendary pop star Whitney Houston.

Rising star Naomi Ackie (Small Axe, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) will play Houston in the film that promises to be “a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice”.

“From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant – and so emotional – journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before,” the plot synopsis reads.

Alongside Ackie, Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders will play Houston’s husband Bobby Brown, with the supporting cast also including Clarke Peters (The Wire), Nafessa Williams (Twin Peaks), Stanley Tucci (Spotlight) and Tamara Tunie (Flight).

Meanwhile, the film is directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Harriet) and written by Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody).

Given the connection to Bohemian Rhapsody, could I Wanna Dance with Somebody be as big a box office hit and as much of an Oscar success as the Freddie Mercury biopic?

Irish audiences will have to wait until its release in cinemas on 26 December to find out.

You can check out the film’s trailer below.

Clip via Sony Pictures Ireland

Earlier in the week, JOE covered the trailers for John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Whale in separate articles.

Meanwhile, here are some of the other big teasers that were released in the past seven days in the world of film and TV.

A Wounded Fawn

Clip via Shudder

Starting with movies, this horror premiering 1 December on Shudder follows a museum curator (Sarah Lind) who finds herself the target of a serial killer (Josh Ruben).

Chevalier

Clip via SearchlightPictures

Another music biopic, this movie tells the story of French-Caribbean musician Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and arrives in cinemas on 7 April 2023.

Christmas Bloody Christmas

Clip via Shudder

A robotic Santa Claus begins a rampant killing spree in this other horror movie coming to Shudder on 9 December.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Clip via Netflix

Daniel Craig’s gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc returns in this sequel to Knives Out that arrives in cinemas on 23 November before dropping on Netflix on 23 December.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Clip via Netflix

Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s animated take on the classic children’s tale drops on Netflix on 9 December.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

Clip via Netflix

Sticking with Netflix animations, the streamer’s update of Charles Dickens’ Christmas story will premiere on 2 December.

The Witcher: Blood Origin

Clip via Netflix

Moving onto TV, Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) leads the cast of this prequel series to The Witcher which drops on Netflix on 25 December.

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