Angela Bassett On Whitney Houston's Lifetime Biopic: Director Says, 'We Had An Open Casting, Any Of You Could've Auditioned' In Regards To Bobbi Kristina Drama [VIDEO]

facebook tweet

Angela Bassett has been on the go promoting her new flim Whitney, which is scheduled to premiere on Lifetime Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.

One stop the new director made was to The Wendy Williams Show, where she opened up about directing for the first time, Bobbi Kristina drama and her thoughts on making the movie.

When Wendy asked the actress, "I understand this is your first time directing?" Bassett replied, "My first time."

Wendy, "How did this all come about for you?"

Bassett: "I was having lunch one day with the executive producer who produced [the] Betty and Coretta movie that I did for Lifetime with Mary J. Blige a couple years back. He says he's working on this Whitney movie ... knowing his integrity, the way he goes about things, I was excited about it, because two years I wasn't excited about the idea."

She adds, "It seemed too soon, and just inappropriate at the time, but now three years later I thought, 'Oh, wonderful' ... he talked about finding a director."

Bassett said she rushed home to try to find some directors for her friend:

"But in the process I said, 'I wish I could direct it, I wish I had the experience,' wish I'd gone to film school ... so he called me three days later and said, 'Did you mean it when you said you wish you could direct, because I went to Lifetime, I told them I thought you'd be perfect, they called me back in an hour and said yes we agree, so we can do it."'

Bassett previously worked with Whitney Houston in Waiting to Exhale. Bassett said some of her best memories of the late singer was that "she was on time, her spirit, she was professional, she was fun, she was funny."

When it comes to Bobbi Kristina, Wendy said: "Bobbi Kristina is very angry, she wanted to be cast so she got on Twitter, she called you all the way out of your name, [Bassett laughs] did you read it, or did people tell you?"

Bassett: "No, but people told me a little bit, I think. I think they spared me most of it."

Wendy adds, "It was very disrespectful."

"No, I didn't read it, and it's probably best, you know things like that hurt your feelings, and they don't really mean it before they hit send," Bassett explained, admitting that she "did't know that she wanted to be in the movie."

"We were filming for a week, I had an interview on set during lunch and the interviewer mentioned that, did I know, and I said ... I was just shocked," Bassett claims. "We had an open casting, any of you could've auditioned."