Highlights
- Whitney Houston, a talented singer and actress, was set to team up with Will Smith for a romantic comedy in 2000. Despite their musical talents and excitement for the project, it never came to fruition.
- Whitney Houston worked with several Hollywood greats throughout her career, showcasing her acting talent alongside her singing abilities in movies like The Bodyguard and The Preacher’s Wife.
- While the exact reason for the movie’s cancellation is unknown, speculation suggests it could have been due to Houston’s personal struggles with addiction and her busy schedule with other projects. It’s a missed opportunity for these two talented stars and the potential for a record-breaking soundtrack.
Whitney Houston was a greatly talented singer and actress. Despite passing away in 2012, she remains a fan favorite who is also remembered with fondness and respect by her peers, like Brandy Norwood.
Yet, a lesser-known fact is that Whitney was supposed to team up with Will Smith for a romantic comedy back in 2000. It is not known if the two stars were also likely to contribute music for the movie’s soundtrack but even without their musical contribution the movie was likely going to be a success and both stars were excited to begin production.
So, what happened to prevent their romantic comedy from coming to be?
Whitney Houston Worked With Many Hollywood Greats
Whitney Houston became a household name as an incredibly gifted singer with a unique voice in the 1980s. Her great talent and fresh voice made her a fan favorite and her life looked like a fairytale. What’s more, she soon showed fans she also had a knack for acting.
During the height of her career, she worked alongside a number of stars like Angela Basset, Kevin Costner, Denzel Washington, and Loretta Devine.
Besides putting in convincing acting work in movies like The Bodyguard, which came out in 1992, and The Preacher’s Wife, which followed in 1996, Whitney also used the soundtracks of these movies as vehicles for her singing talent.
The Bodyguard‘s soundtrack became the best-selling soundtrack of all time and the soundtrack of The Preacher’s Wife became the best-selling gospel album of all time, which is a testament to Whitney’s incredible talent.
So, it comes as no surprise that Will Smith, who has also enjoyed music during his career, was interested in working with Whitney and maybe producing a record-breaking soundtrack.
A Romantic Comedy Was Planned With Will Smith And Whitney Houston
As early as 1998, news outlets started reporting that a romantic comedy starring Will Smith and Whitney Houston and called Anything for Love was in the wings.
MTV News reported that the movie had been confirmed by Universal Pictures and that the plot was going to revolve around a man, played by Will Smith, who leaves his girlfriend, played by Whitney Houston, only to find out months later that he can’t live without her.
One year later, in 1999, Whitney talked about the movie, explaining that it was getting delayed because Will Smith was quite exacting about the script.
“A movie that Will and I have been working for two years. Will is an on-hands kind of guy. He likes to have the script like this, he likes to be with the writers in the room, so that the script is actually the way it’s going to be when we film it. He doesn’t want any surprises. So, he goes in there with the writers, and he sits with them, and he fleshes out the script,” Whitney told reporters inquiring why the movie was delayed.
She looked impressed with Will’s approach to movie-making and seemed confident that the movie would be a success.
“Right now, we’re just looking for that… we’ve got a writer working on that now, so we can read it, we can laugh, we can cry. And it’s getting there,” Whitney continued.
“By next spring, hopefully, we can do this movie. A romantic comedy with Will Smith and I. It’s going to be fun,” she concluded before turning to other topics.
However, fans never got to find out if indeed the movie was going to be fun because the delays ultimately halted production and the project was shelved.
Whatever Happened To Whitney And Will’s Film?
There was no official reason given as to why the movie was never shot.
However, around the same time, Whitney Houston’s trouble with addiction and her turbulent relationship with her on-again, off-again husband, Bobby Brown, made her availability iffy. Her troubles continued for the rest of her life, finally resulting in her tragic death in February 2012.
It is possible that the singer’s erratic behavior caused the movie’s producers to avoid finalizing the project, which is unfortunate because Whitney Houston seemed genuinely interested and excited by the production whenever she discussed it, like in the above-mentioned interview.
However, another possibility is that, in addition to her addiction issues, the singer was simply too busy with other work. She was working on two other movies and had entered a contract with Disney to produce a movie as well.
Between these conflicting obligations on Whitney’s side and Will Smith’s fastidiousness and obsession with the “perfect script,” the movie may have simply been forgotten and fans will never get to experience these two fascinating talents on the big screen.
It’s a shame because Whitney and Will would have made a perfect couple and their musical talent would have certainly produced an unforgettable soundtrack likely to rival The Bodyguard‘s.
Source: NewsFinale
