Whitney Houston may be dead, but the show must go on. At least as far as the upcoming "Waiting to Exhale" sequel is concerned.
Fox 2000 Pictures president Elizabeth Gabler tells Vulture that the studio plans to continue with its adaptation of "Getting to Happy," author Terry McMillan's sequel to "Exhale," despite Houston's death on Saturday at the age of 48.
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Houston starred as Savannah Jackson, a television producer who holds out hope that her married boyfriend will leave his wife for her, in the 1995 film. Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon also star in the film, which was directed by Forest Whitaker and notable at the time for having an all-African American cast.
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"I don’t think [Houston] would want it to [be shelved]," Gabler told Vulture. "It’s almost in her honor that we think to soldier on."
While there is not yet a finished script for the project, Gabler told Vulture that Fox 2000 will soon be hiring new writers to work on one, under the supervision of Whitaker. (Fox 2000 executive Lori Lakin had been working with McMillan on an adaptation, but her duties as a writer and consulting producer on VH1's "Single Ladies" have placed restrictions on her time.)
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Another obvious stumbling block is the need for a replacement for Houston. Gabler opined that "it isn’t inconceivable" that Oprah Winfrey, who championed the original film, might want to step in.
Even so, she concedes, finding someone to fill Houston's shoes won't happen overnight.
"We literally have not talked about anybody for that part," Gable said. "Forest, I know, is just … grieving. He’d been the one who was speaking with her, updating [Houston] on its progress."