Although it’s been years since you produced ‘Cinderella,’ the ABC musical that starred Brandy and Whitney Houston, will you come into this film with that same approach?
DMC: Yes and no. Yes in a sense with the elements of a musical. ‘Sparkle’ and ‘Elixir’ are my fifth and sixth musical and along the way, I’ve learned more about the genre. So, hopefully I’m bringing more to the table with each time out.


Your other project is the remake of ‘Sparkle,’ in which Whitney Houston will be back on the screen acting again. Was it easy to convince her to come back to the acting world?
DMC: I was Whitney’s producing partner for five years. We had a company together called Brownhouse Productions. I’ve had ‘Sparkle’ for 11 years. Whitney and I were developing it under Brownhouse at Warner Bros. for Aaliyah. We had the green light when Aaliyah tragically died. Then it went on the shelf and I kept going back to Warner Bros. every year to see if I could get rolling. They were doing it and while we were having dinner one night, Michael Lynton, who’s Chairman and CEO over at Sony Pictures, and a good friend of mine, mentioned that he loved the movie. Years later, here we are and ready to start production. Whitney will be getting executive producer credit on this because of the history she’s had with the project. We have a longstanding relationship.

Did Whitney want to be in the film as an actress as well?
DMC: She’s always the love project and wanted to be a part of it. We spoke about the role nearly a year ago. This is the right film for her to come back. Mara wrote a fantastic script. I’m involved and with our history, it just made sense.

The whole interview can be read at blackfilm.com