Q&A: Naomi Ackie, Kasi Lemmons tell Whitney Houston’s story

By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer

Naomi Ackie, who plays Whitney Houston in the new biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” is the first to admit she is not a doppelganger for the pop star. In fact, she’ll go so far as to say she doesn’t look like her at all. But the people who really knew Houston, her family and record producer Clive Davis among them, were all convinced that the rising British actor was right for the film, a celebration of the singer’s short life, troubles and all, that opens in theaters nationwide Friday. “It’s a study on the essence of Whitney and not the image of Whitney,” Ackie said. “