WATCH: ‘Respect’ featurette shows Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios dropped a new featurette trailer for their upcoming biographical musical film, Respect. The trailer walks us through how actress Jennifer Hudson prepared herself to play singer and activist Aretha Franklin. 

Liesl Tommy, the director of Respect, wanted someone with a great voice to play the influential singer who died in August 2018.

“She was able to musicalize her lived experience and there’s a handful of people on planet earth that were given the gift of that sound. So when you think about who’s going to play her, it better be another person who’s one of the great voices of all time,” Tommy said.

The team said that Franklin chose Hudson to play herself because of their close relationship. Franklin said she “identified” in the Grammy-winning singer.

Hudson prepared for the role by training with movement coaches and learning how to play the piano six months before they started shooting the film. 

“I took the initiative to take piano lessons because I felt I can’t attempt to play Aretha if I don’t try to learn as many of her songs as I could,” Hudson said.

The trailer ended with Hudson saying that Franklin’s life and legacy “is a heavy life to portray and I wanted to honor that.”

Respect chronicles Franklin’s journey, from starting as a singer in her father’s church choir to becoming an international musical star who’d later inspire the likes of Whitney Houston and Beyoncé.

The film was initially set to be released in October 2020. Its release date was pushed back to August 13 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. – Rappler.com