Will 'Sparkle' give Whitney Houston fans a proper goodbye?
theGRIO REPORT - When Whitney Houston died tragically this February at the age of 48, along with great sadness, the world lamented the lack of a proper goodbye...
Houston signed on to remake the film in the early ‘90s along with producer Debra Martin Chase, but as often happens in Hollywood, the project was delayed throughout the system for years. It was two years ago when DeVon Franklin, vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, got on board to help spearhead the process, and the film was finally brought to fruition.
“What we wanted to do, originally, was set it in the present day, but we really felt that present day wasn’t going to capture the essence of the movie,” Franklin remembers about the 21st century adaptation of the screenplay. “But in 1968, it was a very transitional moment in the genesis of Motown music, so it was rich from a backdrop standpoint…And a lot of great songs came from that era, but people weren’t as aware of the drama and the scenes that went behind making the songs, so it was good creatively.”
Like Rosenman, Franklin can attest to Houston’s devotion to the project, describing it as a film the singer felt, “captures imagination and represents everything that was possible in the world.” Because of her deep-rooted emotional attachment, the movie seemed to be more than a mere artistic endeavor, but a testament to her enigma.
In many ways, it reflected her life.
“The part she played was a cautionary tale to herself, and that’s what surprised me,” Rosenman says.
For the great musical wonderment that Houston embodied, Sparkle marks a more appropriate denouement than what may have been offered at the time of her death. Following her passing, the singer’s notorious drug and alcohol abuses were blasted by the media, and her life became the subject of national scrutiny.
Like Michael Jackson, some saw Houston’s death as predictable and self-prompted; the result of a life lived to the extreme. Drugs were found in her system during her death, contributing to her sudden passing, and her erratic behavior leading up to that day suggested she was setting herself up for demise. Her family was stalked, her personal affairs ridiculed and mocked, and all the while, her tremendous career still honored. One weighed against the other, yet now, in light of a big-screen finish, her soul may finally have the chance to rest in peace.
“Unfortunately, we all have our struggles, and we should not be defined by our struggles, but by our triumphs and who we are,” Franklin adds. “I hope this movie will help solidify the integrity of her legacy. This is what she was about, this is what she wanted to put in the world – to inspire, bring hope – that’s what her music did. I think it is an appropriate addition to her legacy.”
