Whitney Houston's final film “Sparkle” to hit U.S. screen Aug. 17

PanARMENIAN.Net - Not for her career. For her brand.

Houston, who died Feb. 11 at the young age of 48, won't be around to reap any personal benefits from this movie, a remake of the 1976 cult film about the rise of a girl group like The Supremes. But her death could propel "Sparkle" to a whole new level.

Posthumous films, riding on the emotion for a much-loved, newly mourned celebrity, can sometimes achieve an extra jolt of fame. Shock, yearning, morbid curiosity can make them instant classics they might never have been otherwise.

The enduring example is "Rebel Without a Cause." James Dean was already a teen idol before Warner Bros. released his most famous film on Oct. 27, 1955. But the fact that Dean had died in a car crash, less than a month before this saga of drag-racing juvenile delinquents hit the screen, was a guarantee of immortality – both for him and the movie, northjersey.com reported.