Angela Bassett, the American actress and star of 'Malcolm X', says she has signed on to star alongside Whitney Houston in the sequel to 'Waiting to Exhale'. Angela Bassett played the lead role in the original 1995 movie, about four female friends living in Arizona who seek comfortable relationships.
The movie, adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name, also featured Houston and was directed by Forest Whitaker. During a recent interview on 'The Talk', Bassett responded to recent speculation that the original cast are ready to reunite for the sequel, saying, "It's preliminary, but it's going to happen, Waiting to Exhale 2. MCMillan wrote 'Getting to Happy' and she's written the screenplay. ... Loretta, Lela, Whitney, Forest. Forest is working on the script now". Although Bassett refused to reveal plot details, it is assumed that the new movie will focus on a different phase of the character's lives, given the original movie was made 16 years ago. The 1995 film was a financial success, opening at number-one at the North American box-office and grossing $14.1 million in its first weekend of release. In total the movie made $67 million in the U.S. and a further $14.4 million internationally.
Since 'Waiting to Exhale', Angela Bassett has starred in a number of high profile roles, most notably as 'Rosa Parks' in 'The Rosa Parks Story' and as Katherine Jackson in the miniseries 'The Jacksons: An American Dream'. She recently finished work on the forthcoming superhero movie 'Green Lantern', with RYAN REYNOLDS.