Jennifer Hudson wraps up production on the Aretha Franklin biopic ‘Respect’
The Liesl Tommy biopic will be released in October 2020
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Jennifer Hudson has wrapped production on the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.
The actress and singer – who recently starred in the commercial flop Cats – was cast as the iconic Queen of the Soul for the upcoming biopic by Liesl Tommy and is set to be released this October.
And over the weekend, Hudson took to Instagram to reveal that the film has wrapped production.
She wrote: “It is officially a wrap on @respectmovie wrap it up, it’s done!
“Too overwhelmed to get into it right now but words can’t express how grateful I am to be chosen by the queen herself and to live out yet another dream!
“It was my honor, to honor the Queen’s request! The one and only Queen of Soul.”
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Franklin – who sadly passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 76 in 2018 – reportedly handpicked Hudson to play her in the biopic.
Respect will follow Franklin’s life from singing in her father’s church to becoming one of the most iconic figures in the music industry.
Other cast members include Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Tate Donovan, Heather Headley, Skye Dakota Turner, and Mary J. Blige.
During her career, Franklin racked up 18 Grammy Awards and 44 nominations in total. She was also the first individual woman to receive a special Pulitzer citation award in 2019.
Watch the tease trailer below: