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MGM’s Aretha Franklin biopic is finally getting the respect it deserves!
After a year of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Respect will finally be getting a theatrical release on August 13 and now, there’s a new trailer which you can watch below.
Jennifer Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin in the film, which follows Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom. The new trailer gives a glimpse of the highs and lows of Franklin's legendary career and also shows scenes with Hudson's co-stars, including Forest Whitaker as Franklin's father, Marlon Wayans as her first husband and former manager, Mary J. Blige as singer Dinah Washington, and Marc Maron as famed producer Jerry Wexler.
Franklin personally chose Hudson to portray her in the film before Franklin's death at 76 in 2018.
Hudson recently spoke on TODAY about the challenge of portraying an icon on screen.
"It's a lot of layers, especially with someone such as Aretha Franklin," she said. "Where do you even begin? And with the lifespan of a career like that, it's a lot to take in and detail as much as you can as an actress. Then being a singer and performer myself, to be able to split the difference between the two and do the best as I can to deliver it."
Respect is the second high-profile Franklin project this year, following the National Geographic television series Genius which aired in March. Both were scheduled for release in 2020 before plans were disrupted by the pandemic.
Source: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
