'Sparkle' to remain with August. release date

Jordin Sparks stars alongside Whitney Houston in Sparkle. The dying of Whitney Houston came similar to the pop star was planning her return to the bigscreen in Sony's musical-drama "Sparkle," dated for August. 17. Houston plays mother of three brothers and sisters who, after creating a singing group, suffer from the outcomes of fame and drugs. A re-pedaling in the 1976 film, "Sparkle" features an ensemble cast including Jordin Sparks, Mike Epps and Derek Luke. Pic is directed by Salim Akil in the script by Mara Brock Akil, the pair behind the hit Wager sitcom "The Sport.Inch She also recorded several amounts for your soundtrack, featuring original music by R. Kelly. The brand new the new sony is not prone to change its release request the pic. The studio wouldn't discuss the issue beyond a disagreement launched Saturday: "Like every people who understood and loved her, we are shocked and saddened and the world population has lost an incomparable talent. At this time around our ideas are along with her daughter, her family and her pals." Houston, who last came out in theaters with 1996's "The Preacher's Wife," offered becoming an professional producer on "Sparkle." Presently in publish-production, the film marks only the fourth theatrical credit for Houston. Furthermore to "Preacher's Wife," the singer toplined "Waiting to Exhale" in 1995, after making her bigscreen debut in 1992's B.O. hit "The Bodyguard," which made $122 million in your area. Conventional most African-American specific fare, "Sparkle's" theatrical run likely will probably be specific mainly at U.S. audiences. But according to Rentrak, the pic presently is dated to bow in a few major overseas areas later this year. The brand new the new sony first dated "Sparkle" due to its Stateside August release in December 2011. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com