Production for Aretha Franklin's Respect biopic has officially begun! On Nov. 2, Jennifer Hudson [1] and Marlon Wayans were spotted filming scenes for the upcoming movie in Manhattan. The cast — which also includes Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, Mary J. Blige, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Tate Donovan — marked the start of their first day on set by sharing photos of their scripts on Instagram. "Oh me oh my. And so it begins .........," Hudson captioned her photo.
The film — which hits theatres on Aug. 14, 2020 — follows the late singer's rise to superstardom and is directed by Liesl Tommy. Hudson will star as Franklin herself, while Wayans will play Franklin's first husband, Ted White.
The Queen of Soul died [2] at the age of 76 in August 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Hudson paid tribute to the icon [3] by performing a powerful rendition of "Amazing Grace" at her funeral. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the film ahead.
