Alexa, show me Jennifer Hudson's next Oscar.
On Wednesday, a new trailer dropped for the forthcoming, long-awaited biopic about Aretha Franklin, and fans are already stunned by Hudson's transformation into the Queen of Soul. The movie, out in August, is called Respect (though you're allowed to pronounce it "R-E-S-P-E-C-T"), and it will also star Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, and Mary J. Blige. "Anyone who has to sing in this movie can actually sing … Everybody has a Tony!" director Liesl Tommy previously told Entertainment Weekly, noting that all the performances were filmed live.
Hudson reportedly spoke "weekly" with Franklin about the role before the singer's death in 2018, but Aretha's blessing dates back to a conversation the pair had following Hudson's Oscar-winning role in Dreamgirls in 2006. Hudson recalled, "We met in New York, and one of the first things she said to me was 'You're gonna win another Oscar for playing me, right?'" Chills.
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