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Musical biopics are catnip for the Academy’s actor branch.
Actors will love Liesl Tommy’s biopic on Aretha Franklin ‘Respect’. Thirteen years after the Soul Queen first approached Jennifer Hudson, who had just won her “Dreamgirls” Oscar, with the idea of playing her in a movie, “Respect” wrapped up filming in February 2020, one month before the lockdown. MGM has decided to postpone the film from December 2020 until August 13, 2021, to give it a chance to play in theaters. (August has proven to be a successful launching pad for award nominees including “The Help,” “The Butler,” and “BlacKkKlansman.”)
Judging by the way “Respect” performed on Saturday night at the Bruin Theater in Westwood in front of the (masked and vaccinated) members of the Screen Actors Guild nominating committee, the studio made the right choice to prioritize an exclusive release in rooms. Broadway director Tommy has put together a solid Audience Pleasure, written by Tracey Scott Wilson, that will satisfy generations of Franklin fans. And the ageless 39-year-old singer and actress Hudson, who played Franklin from his teens until his acclaimed 1972 gospel concert “Amazing Grace,” is on his way to a second Oscar nomination.
Emmy nominee Cynthia Erivo is also up for an award for playing Franklin, star of NatGeo’s 2021 series “Genius: Aretha”. Both women have extraordinary voices with a range comparable to Franklin. With support from the estate, Hudson sang the title song, “Respect” and other bigger hits like “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman”, while Erivo dug into a range of songs at during Franklin’s 60-year career.
Following the screening, Hudson received a standing ovation before a live Q&A on stage with three of his colleagues: Six-time Tony Laureate Audra McDonald (Franklin’s mother pianist and singer Barbara), singer of longtime church choir member Tituss Burgess (Franklin’s teacher-mentor Reverend Dr. James Cleveland), and Marlon Wayans (husband-manager Ted White). Notably, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”), who plays the film as Franklin’s father, the powerful and controlling womanizer-preacher CL Franklin, as well as Mary J. Blige , who delivers a memorable cameo as Dinah Washington.
“Respect”
MGM
Reviews will be broken later. Here are some highlights from the question-and-answer session:
Hudson officially got Franklin’s blessing to star in a movie eight years ago, before there was a script. “I’m thankful for the timing of things,” she said, “because I needed to be in a certain place and have been through what I’ve been through in life to be able to represent it. at that point… to play Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, is nothing you are going to get used to. I always take it in doses. Now I’m like, “What have I got? do ? Was I okay? ‘ “
Her cast mates were in awe of her live singing, which she insisted on doing even when they were the ones in front of the camera, and acknowledged the amount of after-hours prep she was doing to be ready. every day. (Hudson had 83 period costumes and 11 wig changes.) Comedian Wayans, who played Shakespeare in the High School of Performing Arts before his rare dramatic role in “Requiem for a Dream,” looked after Hudson on the shelf, making sure she was hydrated and fed. “He ordered, he picked up, he put it on the plate,” said Hudson, who considered it his job to be there for his co-stars.
“All of these takes, she never asked for hot water and lemon,” Burgess said. “She was a machine.”
“Well that’s how she’s done in her life,” said Hudson. “I wanted to live like she did.”
“Respect”
MGM
Franklin thought McDonald’s voice sounded like his mother’s opera soprano. The Broadway star was proud, she said, to star in a film about a black woman, written and directed by and starring black women. “Mahalia Jackson said Barbara has one of the best gospel voices in the country,” said McDonald. “For Aretha, having realized part of her mother’s mind was important. She wanted her mother to be recognized in this movie.
Wayans credited Whitaker with bringing a level of intensity to their scenes that forced him to step up, including pulling out a gun during a confrontation. “He will provoke and incite. He improvised. He pulled out a gun, it wasn’t in the script. Every time he pulled that gun out, we’d say, ‘Ooohhh!’ “
Franklin’s level of political activism in favor of not only his friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, but also activist and scholar Angela Davis (whom she released from prison) surprised the cast. Hudson was inspired by the way Franklin faced the suffering in his life. When she performed at Dr King’s funeral she said, “As a black woman, and so close to Dr King, having to go up there and lift everyone up? Think about the pain she was going through. Too often people forget that icons and legends are also humans… She rose above and became the queen of soul… She knew the purpose of her vocation.
“Respect” falls right into the Academy’s sweet spot for musical biopics like “Ray” (Jamie Foxx won Best Actor as Ray Charles), “Lady Sings the Blues” (Diana Ross was nominated as Billie Holiday), “Walk the Line” (Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress as June Carter, while Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for Best Actor as Johnny Cash), “La Vie en Rose” (Marion Cotillard won Best Actress as Edith Piaf) and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Rami Malek won Best Actor as Freddy Mercury). Crafts and an original song (co-written by Hudson and Carole King) are also possibilities.
Hudson won’t be turned down, and in all likelihood neither will Whitaker.
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