Whitney Houston will return to acting in the big-screen remake of 'Sparkle,' which is currently shooting in Detroit. The film tells the fictional story about the Williams sisters who become a successful girl group. Jordin Sparks plays the title character in the film, while Houston plays her over-bearing mother, Effie.

Houston tells Entertainment Tonight (via Singersroom) that she and Sparks have bonded on the set of 'Sparkle.' She's also pleased with the former 'American Idol' singer's portrayal of the lead character. "I think she speaks for herself," Houston explains. "The face, the smile, the innocence, the love for music, the love for singing -- transferring that into Sparkle it was not a hard transition because Sparkle is willing to learn ... as [Jordin] is now."

Jordin, herself, is proud to have Houston as her mentor on the set. She has watched the Grammy Award-winning singer's career from afar and admires her determination. "It's so amazing to stand here and sit here and be like, 'She's still doing it," Sparks says of Houston. "She's got her head on straight, she's got priorities straight -- I heard her talking to her daughter and she knows comforting me. She's dealing with all of these different things and it's really cool to see somebody who's got everything ... Trying to balance and juggle everything as well as wearing the executive producer hat ... It's phenomenal."

'Sparkle' also stars Cee Lo Green, Mike Epps, Derek Luke and others. The flick is set shine in theaters in 2012.

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