First Published: February 15, 2012 1:36 PM EST



LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- For Bishop T.D. Jakes, watching Whitney Houston sing a classic gospel hymn two months ago made him sure the long-struggling singer was poised for a comeback.

Instead, her soulful rendition of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” will be the last chance for audiences to see Houston perform new music. Her performance was filmed for a scene in the upcoming movie “Sparkle,” in which Houston stars as the mother of a family of girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and addiction.

Houston’s death on Saturday in the bathroom of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel thwarted any chance for the singer to rebound from years of damage to her voice and reputation caused by drug abuse and erratic behavior.

The footage of Houston singing is nowhere near as voluminous as the rehearsal videos left behind by Michael Jackson that were crafted into the film “This Is It.” Yet “Sparkle” represents a similar opportunity for audiences — the chance to see a once-gifted but since-tarnished artist perform one last time.

Jackson’s film, released four months after his death, earned more than $250 million worldwide; the success of “Sparkle,” scheduled for release on Aug. 17, remains to be seen. But Jakes predicted audiences would be moved by Houston’s singing of the “Sparrow” gospel classic and another song recorded for the film.

“She delivered it with such conviction that it was a very touching moment in the filming of the movie,” recalled Jakes, a Texas minister who helped produce the film. “She just left such a deep impression on everybody.”

Houston’s performance, filmed in Detroit, brought tears to the eyes of those on the “Sparkle” set, Jakes said.

The film’s executive producer, Howard Rosenman, said the film will show audiences a “Whitney that people have never seen, Whitney that people have never heard.”

By the time of her death, Houston was far removed from her defining film role in 1992’s “The Bodyguard,” which not only became a blockbuster, but also broke down cultural barriers and produced an award-winning soundtrack anchored by the singer’s vocals.

Posthumous releases are nothing new to modern audiences, who watched Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning turn as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” in the summer of 2008, months after his accidental overdose death. A day after Houston’s death, Amy Winehouse’s parents accepted a Grammy Award for her duet with Tony Bennett, “Body and Soul,” which appeared on the crooner’s best-selling album “Duets II.”

The cache of rehearsal footage for his comeback concerts that Jackson left behind when he died in June 2009 helped his estate dig out of debt and showed the world the first images of Jackson performing that it had seen in years. Concert promoter AEG Live released 30-seconds of footage a week after the singer’s death and the hundreds of hours of video were crafted into “This Is It,” which not only demonstrated the King of Pop’s showmanship, but also aided prosecutors who secured an involuntary manslaughter conviction against the singer’s personal physician.

Clips from the film were played for jurors during last year’s trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, and even a defense attorney had to admit after watching unreleased footage that it didn’t show the singer was impaired as Murray’s team had hoped it would.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, which will distribute “Sparkle,” declined to comment for this story or say whether it planned to release any footage of Houston’s singing before the film’s release.

The movie is a remake of a 1976 film written by Joel Schumaker and Rosenman, who said it became a cult favorite in the African-American community because of its complex characters during an era when so-called “blaxploitation” films focused on caricatures. The upcoming version co-stars Jordin Sparks, who rose to fame after appearing on “American Idol.”

Sparks has not commented on Houston’s death or her work with the singer on the film.

Jakes said Houston’s role in the film mirrors her own life and struggles. Houston was professional and courteous during filming, he said.

“I think the coming production will in many ways memorialize the depth of who she is,” Jakes said.

By the time the film and soundtrack are released, some of the questions surrounding Houston’s demise should be answered. Although investigators found some prescription medications in Houston’s hotel room, officials are awaiting the results of toxicology tests before determining her cause of death.

Jakes said although he wasn’t on set every day, he never saw Houston act unprofessionally.

“I certainly got the feeling she was trying to reposition her life and move forward with more focus and commitment to her faith,” he said.

Although famous for her love songs, Houston began singing in church in New Jersey, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led a choir for many years.

Whitney Houston apparently felt comfortable returning to those roots in recent months. In addition to her work in “Sparkle,” she sang “Yes, Jesus Loves Me” for an audience in Hollywood two days before her death. It was her final performance.

This is now the movie to see. My butt will be in that theatre on day one.

Bet you money the studio will move this up to cash in on her death.

its due out late summer. also whitney has an EP credit so that some money for her estate.

[Edited 2/15/12 13:26pm]

getxxxx said:

its due out late summer.

Yeah but I wouldn't be surprised either if they didn't wait for the August date. "This is a bidness." They better be careful not to be so obvious about their dealings from this. There could be a backlash. ie the price hike of her greatest hits. Sony had to issue an apology.

the movie is acutally still in post production ... they already moved it back a week from its original release date of August 10.

and its need to be set up properly, test screenings, reshoots, single choice and soundtrack. its not that simple and the estate has to be involved also seeing that she is an EP for the movie.

getxxxx said:

the movie is acutally still in post production ... they already moved it back a week from its original release date of August 10.

and its need to be set up properly, test screenings, reshoots, single choice and soundtrack. its not that simple and the estate has to be involved also seeing that she is an EP for the movie.

I don't doubt the logistical measures that are still needing to be done. I still wouldn't be surprised if they tried to rush the post production work that's left to capitalize off of this sudden tragedy. They'll chalk it up as "public demand." I mean, its not like they'll be relying on a lot of special effects or anything. Those type of films usually take months if not longer to wrap up.

[Edited 2/15/12 13:55pm]

The longer they wait the less people will be excited to see it, the mourning phase will be long over.

What happened to Entertsiner?

lazycrockett said:

Bet you money the studio will move this up to cash in on her death.

That's why the date is now being moved up.

Why and when did Sony issue an apology?

I don't remember the mother in the original Sparkle doing any singing, and I think she was a maid. But I haven't seen it in a long time though.

MickyDolenz said:

I don't remember the mother in the original Sparkle doing any singing, and I think she was a maid. But I haven't seen it in a long time though.

She did not sing, and she was a maid

I was wondering if she filmed enough for it to be released with her in it, good to see it's still happening. Aaliyah didn't finish the Matrix series on time though she finished Queen of the Damned.

I was looking forward to seeing this before she passed and that certainly hasn't changed now. I always thought Whitney was a good actress. Very natural and chartismatic on screen. I will see the film when it's released.

Me too. Though I never saw her other movies besides Cinderella, I remember immensely enjoying the soundtrack songs she did and have Waiting to Exhale.

alphastreet said:

I was wondering if she filmed enough for it to be released with her in it, good to see it's still happening. Aaliyah didn't finish the Matrix series on time though she finished Queen of the Damned.

She fnished filming it. It's currently in post-production.

Terrib3Towel said:

alphastreet said:

I was wondering if she filmed enough for it to be released with her in it, good to see it's still happening. Aaliyah didn't finish the Matrix series on time though she finished Queen of the Damned.

She fnished filming it. It's currently in post-production.

I feel guilty saying it, but thank god. It sounded like a really good project from the start. It would have sucked if someone else had to re-do all her parts, like say, Jada Pinkett

alphastreet said:

Terrib3Towel said:

She fnished filming it. It's currently in post-production.

I feel guilty saying it, but thank god. It sounded like a really good project from the start. It would have sucked if someone else had to re-do all her parts, like say, Jada Pinkett

Their marriage is intact!!

hahahahha but it is!!! *throws a tantrum*

scriptgirl said:

Why and when did Sony issue an apology?

Sony released an apology for hiking up the price of Whitney's back catalogue hours after her death on UK I-TUNES (not sure if it happened worldwide) - but they blamed it on a technical error.

mancabdriver said:

scriptgirl said:

Why and when did Sony issue an apology?

Sony released an apology for hiking up the price of Whitney's back catalogue hours after her death on UK I-TUNES (not sure if it happened worldwide) - but they blamed it on a technical error.

Yeah right.

^ why oh why am I remembering mj's sony speech?

Getting back on TOPIC here...

Whitney is not the lead of the movie, so therefore no need to rush the movie out of post production. With Whitney's passing if they have to do reshoots or redubs for her its gonna be interesting how they handle this. The Sparkle story was updated to current times, so therefore the mother probably is singing at the church, which explains her singing in the movie. Hopefully they wont lead the soundtrack with a one of the Whitney gospel songs she did.

Waiting To Exhale was the only movie that didnt feature a singing Whitney.

getxxxx said:

Getting back on TOPIC here...

Whitney is not the lead of the movie, so therefore no need to rush the movie out of post production. With Whitney's passing if they have to do reshoots or redubs for her its gonna be interesting how they handle this. The Sparkle story was updated to current times, so therefore the mother probably is singing at the church, which explains her singing in the movie. Hopefully they wont lead the soundtrack with a one of the Whitney gospel songs she did.

Waiting To Exhale was the only movie that didnt feature a singing Whitney.

Apparently, R. Kelly wrote a song for her called "Celebrate" that will make it onto the Soundtrack. Another song is her rendition of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." Don't know about any other songs except those two.

Musicslave said:

getxxxx said:

the movie is acutally still in post production ... they already moved it back a week from its original release date of August 10.

and its need to be set up properly, test screenings, reshoots, single choice and soundtrack. its not that simple and the estate has to be involved also seeing that she is an EP for the movie.

I don't doubt the logistical measures that are still needing to be done. I still wouldn't be surprised if they tried to rush the post production work that's left to capitalize off of this sudden tragedy. They'll chalk it up as "public demand." I mean, its not like they'll be relying on a lot of special effects or anything. Those type of films usually take months if not longer to wrap up.

[Edited 2/15/12 13:55pm]

But, if they REALLY want to cash in, they'd have to move it up considerably -- like Memorial Day weekend release at the latest, but ideally in the next six weeks (which won't happen).

If they can't get it fully produced months earlier, then it won't matter if its released August 24, or August 17, or any time months down the road. By that time, the number of casual fans who may have had their interest piqued because of her death will have stabilized and won't be wavering week to week. Capitalizing on her death (as awful as that sounds) is dependent on getting the non-hardcore fans to see the film, since the hardcore fans will see it regardless. I can't see casual fan interest being any different between given weeks six months down the road, or even 4 months down the road.

If they're not going to get it released relatively soon, then maybe they should wait until Labor Day weekend which might provide a boost. Then again, it would be going up against some huge blockbuster. Maybe Fourth of July Week would be a realistic goal (but again up against huge blockbuster action fare). Part of the marketing could be her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Yes, that's incredibly crass, but you know the movie industry would do it.

Regardless of when its released, they're going to increase the money spent on marketing. "Whitney Houston in her last role ****." Expect to hear that a LOT.

BUT WHITNEY ISNT THE LEAD in SPARKLE remember.

getxxxx said:

BUT WHITNEY ISNT THE LEAD in SPARKLE remember.

Although its a supportive role, they will still use her image to help sell the movie. I agree she's not a lead but most studios will capitalize off of the renewed interest in her last work. They're gonna milk it for all its worth. Sad to say but true.

getxxxx said:

BUT WHITNEY ISNT THE LEAD in SPARKLE remember.

That's true, but it's not going to prevent the studio from using her heavily in the marketing.

Whitney was gonna be used in the Marketing of the film anyway before her death, she is an EP of the film.