I would always say jokingly that her fans and those who loved her would be standing in the wings with bricks ready to hurl at me if I didn't get this right. There are so many moving parts and I certainly knew this. Being a first time director-really anytime you attempt to make a movie-there's great hope that it will fly and that it won't fail miserably. Was that a concern for you at all in taking this on? Speaking of elevating and not degrading an icon's memory, when Lifetime aired their Aaliyah movie, there was a big backlash, especially from people who knew her. I wanted to elevate and edify and not degrade her or her memory.

Everything, I just wanted to be of service to her in the best, in the most dignified, way that I could, that would bring dignity and not diminish her. I wanted to serve her story, you know? The good, the bad, the strengths, the flaws. Because I spent some time around her, I was able to observe her, be up close to her, to stand in the light of her generosity, her professionalism, her joy, her beauty, her talent, her enthusiasm, her acting, her being around other women. How did that alter the way you approached the film? She's such an icon, and you did know her personally. As you said, Whitney's made a huge contribution to the world as an artist. How would I do it? How could I? What's the script? You know? What point of view were they taking? And so in lieu of saying 'yes' or 'no' or 'Oh this is such a great responsibility' and in order to buy some time I said, 'Can I read the script first?' And I thought, 'Either it's going to thrill me or it's going to kill me.' And it thrilled. And he called me about three days later and said, 'Did you mean that when you said you wished you could direct it? Because you can.' And I was just so floored, knocked out by that and I was just trying to make sense of it. Then I just said that I wished that I could direct, the subtext being, I wished I had the experience to be able to direct it. I said, 'As soon as I get home and settle myself and think a little bit, I'll text you names of directors,' because he had reached out to someone to direct and they were unavailable. Near the end of the lunch he said he was working on this, on the Whitney project, and I was intrigued. We were having lunch-not specifically for this project, but because we have lunch every now and again. The Larry Sanitsky at Lifetime was already involved. How did the project find you? Did Lifetime approach you with the opportunity? I had worked with her and spent time around her and it was an opportunity to say how much I love her and appreciate her artistry and her contribution as an artist. She meant so much to everyone and certainly to me as well. I think I would be very regretful if I didn't do it. What made you choose this project for your first time out? Directed by Houston's Waiting to Exhale costar, Angela Bassett, the film doesn't shy away from showing the uglier parts of Whitney's three-plus decades in the spotlight.Д®LLE.com spoke to first-time director Bassett about her relationship with Houston and how it informed the choices she made behind the camera, whether she's worried about backlash from Houston's family and die-hard Whitney fans, and what she thinks about her still-fabulous car-on-fire scene from Waiting to Exhale 20 years after the film's release. Simply called Whitney, it stars The Butler (and America's Next Top Model) alum Yaya DaCosta as Houston. Two years later, Lifetime is coming out with a Houston biopic that premieres tomorrow, Saturday, January 17 at 8 P.M. Although her troubles with drugs and her fights with her husband, the incorrigible Bobby Brown, were well documented, at 48, Houston still seemed too young, too talented, and too vital to be gone forever.

In the annals of shocking celebrity deaths, Whitney Houston's ranks pretty high.

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