Jennifer Hudson talks to Billboard about channeling Aretha Franklin in the 'Respect' biopic.
opens Aug. 13 in theaters, audiences will get to see and hear the transformation for themselves. Directed by Liesl Tommy with a script by Tracey Scott Wilson, the biopic covers Franklin’s life from 1952-1972 -- culminating in the recording of the Grammy Award-winningalbum. The film covers a wide swath during its nearly two and a half hours, from Franklin's turbulent personal life to her political activism and, most important, her journey to becoming the Queen of Soul.
It's a performance that certainly deserves, well, respect. During a recent promotional visit to Franklin's hometown of Detroit -- where she visited the artist’s childhood home and sang in the local New Bethel Baptist Church -- Hudson sat down to share the rigors of living up to the Queen's standards.It was about eight years after our initial meeting. We had several conversations about it, but she made it official in 2016. She called me while I was on Broadway doing.
What was it like co-writing"Here I Am " for the film’s end credits and channeling Franklin into an original piece of music? First, working with Carole King. What better way to put the cherry on top than to have Carole King write this original song. And it helped because I know her as well. So talking with her about her experiences with [Franklin] as well as mine and the texture of the film is how it all started out. Then her allowing me to put my little two cents in was amazing. It was about connecting a lot of those dots. I couldn't imagine a better way to pay tribute to Ms. Franklin.
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