Jennifer Hudson has now shared her point of view about this project, this dream job, this lifetime opportunity depicting her idol in the highly anticipated upcoming biopic “Respect”
Jennifer Hudson, 38, is a stalwart artist, a singer who has a powerful voice and gifted music talent, and she has won many awards including an Oscar for 2006’s Best Supporting Actress. Aretha Franklin personally picked Hudson to play Franklin in the upcoming biographic film. Jennifer Hudson — unlike a lot of performers who play a historical person in any aspect of life on film — is one of the examples to be trusted and hand-picked by the actual figure (in this case, Aretha Franklin), whom she will portray in the biopic “Respect”. Hudson is set to illuminate the silver screen as the late legendary musician Aretha Franklin in the movie “Respect”, which will be released in December. In Hudson’s opinion, taking the role and portraying Franklin is a dream come true.
I’ve gotten to pay tribute to her many times since then, but every time is like the first time.
Jennifer Hudson tells PEOPLE in this week’s PEOPLE issue
According to PEOPLE, Hudson shared her words with them in this week’s PEOPLE issue that “Back in April 2003, I got to open up for her in Merrillville, Indiana, where she held a concert. That was before Dreamgirls, before I ever dreamed of playing her one day” Hudson also expressed that she has gotten the opportunity to pay homage and sing praises to Franklin on multiple occasions from that point forward, yet every time resembles the first time Hudson met Franklin.
During this past weekend, at the 40th BET Awards ceremony, Hudson decided to perform Franklin’s rendition of Nina Simone’s protest song “Young, Gifted and Black” before the announcement for the trailer debut of the film “Respect”. During her performance of the song, she additionally gets to show off another expertise she got while preparing for her most recent performance.
Hudson shares that one of the methods in which she got into the portrayal of Franklin “I started piano lessons”. She also stated that Aretha got her back in music school and it is still a procedure. However, the film has made me progressively energetic about learning an instrument and made her expression through music.
The film “Respect”‘s director Liesl Tommy thinks that the difficult work of Hudson paid off big time. “Jennifer may be one of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with,”. The filmmaker adds that “we were both so humbled by the task that we just agreed that there would be no ego in the process and that Aretha would be the diva in the room at all times, not us.”
Currently, months after recording the film process, Hudson has a new experience and new knowledge and they all stick with Hudson. “I still feel like she’s in me, I really do,” she says of Franklin. “I just hope to meet her requests. You think you respect Aretha, but once you see the film and you learn her story, you can’t help but to have a newfound respect for her.”
(Featured Image Source: PHOTO by QUANTRELL D. COLBERT)
