(Photos from left: Courtesy of Stage 6 Films, Courtesy of Millenium Films)

There’s something for everyone at the box office this weekend. In one corner, we have Sparkle, for lovers of semi-biographical-musical-period-remakes or anyone interested in seeing the late, great Whitney Houston in her comeback performance.

If emoting through song is the kind of thing that makes you want to gouge out your eyes and pour wax in your ears, there’s the more testosterone-y Expendables 2, starring Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris and a bunch of other aging muscle-men reliving their heydays.

Will it be a battle of the sexes at the box office, or have we moved on from those kinds of gender stereotypes? We’ll find out on Monday.

(Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures)

Grab your headset and put on your favorite diva wig. Whitney Houston’s classic film The Bodyguard is coming back to theaters…for only one night. The box office hit, which is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary, will play in 400 movie theaters across the country on March 28. The Bodyguard was the second highest-grossing film of 1992, and the soundtrack earned two Oscars and three Grammy awards. It was the biggest hit of Houston’s acting career, both commercially and critically, and of course the soundtrack contained Houston’s most memorable hit, “I Will Always Love You.”

The event will, naturally, have special meaning after Houston’s sudden passing in February. Many remember Kevin Costner’s touching eulogy to the late superstar, in which he spoke fondly about the experience making The Bodyguard.

The special event will take place just one day after Warner Bros. releases The Bodyguard 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray. Don’t miss it!

(Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)

Looks like 2012 might be the year biopics get started.

First, there is the Whitney Houston biopic, which is supposedly being produced by Clive Davis. Last year, Meagan Good expressed interested in playing Whitney. Two other names have swirled around over the past few months: Lark Vorhees and Vivica Fox. While both are talented, I don’t see either one as Whitney. I could see Nicole Beharie, Regina King, Kerry Washington or Wendy Raquel Robinson from The Game.

Miles Davis‘ biopic is a long time down the road, but Herbie Hancock has already been chosen to do the score. The only real name floating around is Don Cheadle, which seems like a perfect match. Other actors that could fit the bill are Chiwetel Ejiofor or Samuel L. Jackson.

Davis was a legendary jazz musician but he also had demons—he had an addiction to heroin and was known to be physically abusive. It would take a true talent to tackle such an iconic and complex person.

Which biopics would you like to see?

We are all wondering who will play the female lead in The Bodyguard, which, as we reported last week, is in the process of being remade. Names are floating around, including Miley Cyrus. However, another pop star rumored to be in the mix is the “Umbrella” diva Rihanna. But Whitney fans don’t have to worry: Rihanna recently responded to the rumors and gave a resounding “Absolutely not!”

The Barbados native told OK! Magazine, “I hate it when singers do singing movies all the time because you can never look at them as anybody else,” she said. “I want to separate the two. I want to play a character. My whole life is playing Rihanna—being a singer 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.”

When singers do “singing movies”? Is that a slight diss to Beyoncé? I am sure actresses in Hollywood are tried of singers taking movie roles. But The Bodyguard is a film made for a singer, and no one did it better than Whitney Houston. (Side note: The role was originally for Madonna.)

Whatever the case, I appreciate Rihanna looking to challenge herself. Her first film role will be in Battleship, which is currently in production and set to hit in theaters in 2012.

Almost two years ago, it was reported that Whitney Houston’s mega-successful 1992 film The Bodyguard was up for a remake. Supposedly, Miley Cyrus would play Whitney’s character, the high-strung singing diva. Hugh Jackman would play Kevin Costner’s character of the trusty bodyguard. Thankfully, we never saw that film come to life.

Now, Deadline.com is reporting that Warner Bros. is officially remaking The Bodyguard but with social-media and Iraq War twists:

The new version is similar, including the love story, but here the bodyguard will be a former Iraq war veteran who gets the job protecting the star as his first gig after leaving the Army. He discovers that the world of Twitter, Google Maps, and TMZ has made access to celebrities easier than ever, making the job more difficult than ever. The goal is to take a young female singer with global appeal and give her the platform that The Bodyguard did Houston.”

It would be no shocker if Miley’s name popped back up to play Nippy’s role, Rachel Marron.  The past few years of Miley’s career have been about taking her to the “next level.”  But, why not let The Bodyguard rest about a decade more or so?  The flick isn’t even 20 years old. Isn’t it a little soon to dust off the Queen of the Night headpiece and revamp “I Will Always Love You”?

Do you want to see a remake of The Bodyguard?

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Fifteen years ago today a female revolution was set ablaze via the big screen. On December 22, 1995, Waiting to Exhale hit theaters across the country.

Waiting to Exhale was the film version of Terry McMillan’s best-selling novel of the same name. Four women in Phoenix, Arizona are holding their breath until that one good man comes along. Women from all walks of life could relate to the soon-to-be divorcee, the woman who was in love with a married man, the woman who was in love with a man who was no good for her, and the woman who was still in love with her ex-husband.

The film starred Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, and Whitney Houston in her first role since The Bodyguard. In addition, Forest Whitaker directed the film. Waiting to Exhale was met with mixed reviews, mainly because of Whitaker’s directing style that some claimed was too gentle for a novel that had so much edge. However, most agreed that Angela Bassett and former Broadway Dreamgirl, Loretta Devine, stole the movie.

Bassett’s character setting her husband’s belongings on fire or Devine’s character inviting her new neighbor over for dinner – ”It’s just leftovers. Collard greens and corn bread, some candied yams, a little potato salad, fried chicken, peach cobbler and a few slices of ham.” — Those scenes are legendary.

The Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack was just as memorable.  Produced by Babyface, the soundtrack included songs with Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton and of course Whitney Houston, who got a #1 hit with “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).” The album was #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for five weeks and within a year of its release went 7x platinum.

Waiting to Exhale brought in over $14 million its opening weekend and grossed over $80 million worldwide. The film was the 26th highest grossing film of 1995.  Earlier this year, there was talk of the original cast reuniting for a Waiting To Exhale sequel.

Terry McMillan’s sequel to the successful Waiting To Exhale is Getting To Happy.  The book will definitely be a movie and word on the street is that the original cast might return for the film version.

For those who don’t remember, the original cast included Angela Bassett as Bernadine Harris, Whitney Houston as Savannah Jackson, Lela Rochon as Robin Stokes (a role that both Robin Givens and Halle Berry wanted) and Loretta Devine as Gloria Matthews. The film was also directed by Forest Whitaker and included small roles from Wesley Snipes, Dennis Haysbert, Leon and Donald Faison.

Waiting To Exhale was a huge hit in 1995, grossing over $80 million and the 26th grossing film of that year. Also, the soundtrack was unforgettable — what I wouldn’t give to have Babyface return for one of those various artists albums he was known for!

The original cast is a must and it’s a good look to see Whitney return to the screen in a role that people loved her in.

Do you want to see a sequel to Waiting To Exhale?

The Bodyguard, a story about a pop diva being stalked who falls in love with her bodyguard, was originally played by the legendary Whitney Houston.  The 1992 flick delivered one of the greatest soundtracks of all time and was a massive success, garnering $410 million worldwide and winning two Oscars.  So, of course Hollywood wants to recapture the cash.  Rumor of The Bodyguard remake has been buzzing in Hollywood for the past year — Rihanna’s name was tossed around. 

UK paper, The Independent, is reporting The Bodyguard is set to be remade with Miley Cyrus as Whitney’s character and Hugh Jackman (umm, okay… ) as the bodyguard, “Miley Cyrus, face of box-office phenomenon Hannah Montana The Movie, is to star in a remake of the overblown Whitney Houston vehicle The Bodyguard.”

Now, I’m not one to hate on someone’s grind — but what kind of tomfoolery is this?  Miley as Whitney?  That’s like casting Britney Spears as Kizzy in a remake of Roots!  Cyrus is clearly a box office draw, but couldn’t they have grabbed someone else for the flick?  I could deal with Jennifer Hudson or even Christina Aguilera.  How about not touching the movie at all?  It’s not even 20 years old!  Hollywood is running out of story lines quickly — where is an online petition when you need one?

Would you like to see Miley Cyrus in a remake of The Bodyguard?

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