'RESPECT' Aretha Franklin Biopic Trailer Starring Jennifer Hudson

The long-awaited moment has finally arrived! The official trailer for ‘RESPECT’ is here and it is very much giving what it’s supposed to be!

Source: Courtesy MGM Studios / Courtesy MGM

The film follows the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice.

Starring:

Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin

Forest Whitaker as C.L. Franklin

Marlon Wayans as Ted White

Audra McDonald as Barbara Franklin

Marc Maron as Jerry Wexler

Tituss Burgess as Reverend Dr. James Cleveland

Kimberly Scott as Mama Franklin

Saycon Sengbloh as Erma Franklin

Hailey Kilgore as Carolyn Franklin

Heather Headley as Clara Ward

Skye Dakota Turner as Young Aretha Franklin

Tate Donovan as John Hammond

and

Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington

Check out the trailer below:

Listen baby, Aretha Franklin picked the right one when she said Jennifer Hudson should play her. She EPITOMIZED her. BOSSIP was part of an audience of media professionals who attended a preview event for today’s trailer reveal. During the session, Jennifer Hudson and director Liesl Tommy spoke about the experience of making the film. Hudson said she challenged herself to become a better piano player while playing the role and she also faced an interesting decision about whether to sing Franklin’s songs “like Franklin” would or to do them as Jennifer Hudson influenced by Franklin would. We also have to say Jennifer was looking stunning — both in the trailer as well as at the preview event.

Director Liesl Tommy makes her feature film debut with Respect. Tommy is the first Black woman ever nominated for a Tony Award® for Best Direction of a Play in 2016 for Eclipsed, and is an Associate Artist at the Berkeley Rep and an Artist Trustee with the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees.

With a story by Callie Khouri (Oscar® winner for Writing, Thelma & Louise) and Tracey Scott Wilson, and screenplay written by Tracey Scott Wilson. Wilson and Tommy have worked together creatively since the 2009 play The Good Negro written by Wilson, directed by Tommy at The Public Theatre. Wilson was a writer on FX’s The Americans which garnered her a Peabody Award as well as Emmy® and WGA Award nominations.

Follow #RespectMovie on social media.

Instagram: @RespectMovie

Twitter: @RespectMovie

Facebook: @RespectFilm

See it only in theaters on August 13, 2021