Jennifer Hudson already won one Academy Award for singing her heart out, and possessing the acting chops to boot, could she be on her way to another with Respect? With the arrival of the first full teaser trailer for the Aretha Franklin biopic, you can forgive us if we commence the Oscar campaign right now for Hudson. If there is a casting choice that has Oscar nod written all over it, it is the sensationally talented American Idol veteran being tapped to portray the Queen of Soul.
MGM had a previous “teaser” that let’s be honest, in the months since it debuted has been somewhat forgotten, given the headlines that have dominated the world since the holidays, circa 2019. It was a solid marketing move that could never have expected a pandemic would have drowned out its buzz. After all, it just featured Hudson singing Franklin’s signature song (and the film’s moniker) for about 30 seconds as the world R-E-S-P-E-C-T lit up behind her. We had a similar reaction as we do to this look at the film then. After all, the idea of Hudson as Franklin alone gets the goosebumps flowing. That’s why this full-on trailer has got the juices flowing and us wondering (and hoping) that the flick’s holiday 2020 release plans aren’t derailed by the Coronavirus that shows no signs of slowing and has already forced Hollywood to reshuffle their release deck countless times.
Besides being an inspired casting choice, it was Franklin herself who signed off on the casting before she passed away in 2016.
After experiencing the power of Franklin on the screen in Amazing Grace—the documentary from last year that chronicled her two-day gospel concert at a South Los Angeles church, hers is a story that must be seen on the big screen. Respect is supposedly set to chronicle the icon’s life, from her humble beginnings singing in her father’s church choir to setting the world on fire for decades as a best-selling artist and a revered singer of the highest order.
Broadway veteran Liesl Tommy is making her big-screen debut with the Franklin biopic and that too is an inspired choice. This is an all-female behind-the-scenes project, what with Tracey Scott Wilson penning the script.
Will history repeat itself for Hudson, what with her winning an Academy Award in 2006 for the musical Dreamgirls and now her return to the big screen with another opportunity to meld her rich talent scope of acting and singing?
Respect also stars Marlon Wayans as Ted White, Forest Whitaker as C.K. Franklin, Audra McDonald as Barbara Franklin, Titus Burgess stars as Dr. James Cleveland, Kimberly Scott as “Mama” Franklin, Tate Donovan as John Hammond, Mary J. Blige stars as Dina Washington (who “mentored” Franklin), and Marc Maron as Jerry Wexler.