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Wanna Dance with Somebody, the new biopic about the late su- perstar Whitney Houston from TriStar Pictures, is a powerful, no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind the voice — and ultimate- ly a triumphant celebration of her life and music. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most influential recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant and emotional journey through Houston's trailblazing life and career, with all of its high and lows, and show-stopping performances. Starring BAFTA winner Naomi Ackie as the singer, and direct- ed by Kasi Lemmons, whose last film Harriet was nominated for two Academy Awards, the film also stars Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown and Stanley Tucci as Houston's legendary producer and mentor Clive Davis. I Wanna Dance with Somebody is produced by the team behind the blockbuster Bohemian Rhapsody, including producer Denis O'Sullivan and screenwriter Anthony McCarten, who was Oscar nominated for his Bohemian Rhapsody script. Here, in an exclusive interview with Post, I spoke with the director, whose credits include Eve's Bayou and Black Nativity, and who was still deep in post at press time, about making the film, editing, and dealing with the sound and all the visual effects. What sort of film did you set out to make? "I really had a personal connection to the story, as I'd written two screenplays for Whitney — one that she didn't know I was writing, which I came in and pitched to her, and another that her father commissioned me to write for her. She made a real impression on me when we met, so I wanted to make a tribute to the person that I knew and had written for, and I also wanted to celebrate her. There was something that happened during her life where she was stripped of a lot of her dignity, and people remembered these hard images of her — and some of that she was responsible for, with her reality TV show and various interviews, so I wanted to tell the truth about it and help restore her dignity, while reminding people why she was so extraordinary. She was like this goddess or angel who was with us for a while, and I wanted to remind everyone of that." It's a very tall order to step into Whitney's shoes. What did Naomi bring to the role? "You're right. It was a huge challenge and commitment, and she's this young British actress who was so prepared in every way and worked on every aspect of the character for a very long time — Whitney's voice, her movement, her pres- ence, as well as the emotional foundation of knowing the character and knowing what was needed in every scene. Naomi is very strong, but she also has a vulner- ability that I think Whitney had. She has that side of her — a person who's going to be super-successful, a megastar, but who's also very human and sensitive and vulnerable. And Naomi has a beautiful and very powerful voice, and can sing in the same range as Whitney, and that was so important in making it all seamless. She is truly extraordinary in the role." You must have begun integrating post and all the sound and VFX during prep, right? "Right, and we began planning all that stuff out in prep. Sound and music are like a character in every film, but espe- cially in this one, and you can use them to such great dramatic effect. I really love working with both and seeing the way they fill out a scene and make it come alive, and it was so crucial to get it right, especially in all the performance and concert scenes. When she's singing, you need to feel she's actually singing live, and feel that incredible power in her vocals, whether it's Naomi or Whitney, as we blended some of their vocals. And we had a substantial amount of VFX, especially crowd work, as we shot this with COVID protocols and had 150 extras that were supposed to look like 50,000 for the big concerts." Talk about how you collaborated on the look with Barry Ackroyd. "He had a very interesting approach for a biopic, as he shot it handheld, almost like a documentary, which is how he began his career. I also found it to be very musical, and there's this immediacy to it, and you feel the life in it. It's like a living, breathing camera, and it's why I love handheld and especially when it's used for movies about music. But there's also this quality where you feel like you're peering in at something, and Barry gives it this intense sense of reality, which is something I wanted. He also makes it I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY 'S KASI LEMMONS CELEBRATING AND PAYING TRIBUTE TO WHITNEY HOUSTON I DIRECTOR'S CHAIR www.postmagazine.com 16 POST NOV/DEC 2022 BY IAIN BLAIR Actor Stanley Tucci and Kasi Lemmons on-set.