While movies and music are being moved around at a feverish rate due to the ongoing pandemic, the Aretha Franklin biopic ‘Respect’ is shifting for reasons much more positive.
Full story below…
Deadline reports that the film – which sees Jennifer Hudson star in the lead role – has been lifted from its original October 9th debut.
Instead, it’ll head to theaters for a limited run on Christmas Day (December 25th).
Thereafter, the MGM production will expand to more screens on January 8th and eventually land in cinemas everywhere officially on January 15th. The latter of which is Martin Luther King weekend.
So why the move?
Word is that it’s designed to place the film in the thick of 2021 award season.
Typically, studios schedule their major contenders to premiere in the Autumn frame, but it’s also common-practice to target the holidays and after so as to be fresh to the various panels. A play that has yielded positive results for the likes of ‘Hidden Figures’ and 1917.’
Conversely, ‘CATS’ – which tried the same – came out at the opposite end.
Yet, multiple sources close to production have praised the work on ‘Respect’ and its buzz within critic circles is growing in earnest.
Time will tell if it delivers!
Directed by Liesl Tommy, ‘Respect’ also stars Forest Whitaker as C.L. Franklin, Marlon Wayans as Ted White, Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington, and Tituss Burgess as Rev. Dr. James Cleveland.
We’re all sorts of buzzed! Are you?!
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Basically this is Effie White singing Aretha songs. BOO!
LMAO well said
Seriously! Effie White movie basically!
No, Aretha Franklin’s biopic. Two totally different characters…
So basically another OSCAR for Jennifer Hudson ??
I don’t know how I feel about Jennifer playing Aretha. I know the Queen herself wanted her, but vocally, J.Hud and Aretha are sooooooooo different. Aretha had a beautiful tone with a soulful grit, while J. Hud has more of a heavy piercing dramatic tone. But I guess I will just have to wait and see how J.Hud pulls this off…
I agree. I absolutely hatd the argument “Aretha picked Jennifer” because Aretha wanted Halle Berry as well so obviously she didnt want an honest biopic, she wanted something glossed up and padded. Jennifer Hudson voice is so hard and heavy, even her soft sing or falsetto is too heavy. Aretha’s voice was so colorful, Jennifer’s voice is dark. Aretha could flex and bend her vocals a multitude of ways. Her cigarette smoking did noticeable damage to her voice yet she learned new techniques to accommodate her voice. Jennifers voice is kind of one dimensional. She might could get the personality and shyness down with an acting coach but the singing will be nothing like Aretha, not even Carolyn.
True, they both have different voices yet similar tones. This will not be Jennifer singing. She will be singing is Aretha Franklin. She’s studied her vocal techniques and expressions. It’s called acting ppl…Jennifer’s instrument is strong enough to pull it off. Thus the reason Aretha chose her. She’s going to suprise a lot of ppl and I for one can’t wait ?
Then why doesn’t she sound like Aretha in the trailer telling her story? When Aretha was alive she said they would use her recordings while Jennifer will sing some songs. I hope that remains true now that Aretha has passed.
They can keep it honestly
Jennifer can sing but nobody can sing Aretha besides Aretha. Jennifer could never sing this perfect…her voice is always doing the most. Aretha could blow the roof off or move you to tears singing softly.
https://youtu.be/N1MW6xXjW8g
Jennifer Won’t be singing as herself in the movie, DUH! She will be in full actress mode, mirroring Aretha from the personality to vocals.
You keep saying that but it’s not believable considering all of her singing roles are her sounding as herself. She literally plays the same character time after time. All of her tributes to Aretha sound mediocre at best and the tribute at her funeral was pure hell. Shes already getting mixed reveiws from just the trailer for sounding too much as herself and not as Aretha.
FYI, that was nowhere near the trailer. That was just a teaser announcing the film to the masses. Stay tuned.