Whitney Houston was also one of five executive producers on the movie, having acquired remake rights around the year 2000. Her original plan was to have singer Aaliyah star as Sparkle, until the singer died in a plane crash in August 2001.
Whitney Houston's last film - she died during post production. The picture was to be an acting comeback for the singer, who had not appeared in a theatrical release since The Preacher's Wife (1996) in 1996.
The venue mentioned as The Fillmore was actually named the State Theater at the time the film takes place. It didn't change to it's current name The Fillmore until 2007.