Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson is expected to star in the film with a script penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri
MGM announced on Thursday that it has tapped stage and television director Liesl Tommy to helm “Respect,” the studio’s Aretha Franklin biopic.
Tommy, a South African-born American stage director, is best known for her direction of the 2016 Tony-nominated play “Eclipsed,” which was written by “Black Panther” star Danai Gurira.
“The story of Aretha Franklin’s journey from child prodigy in Detroit to international supernova is rife with struggle and triumph, making her life one of the great American stories of all time,” Tommy said in a statement. “As a filmmaker there is no greater gift than to be able to bring this transcendent chronicle of a woman’s fight for self-realization to visual life with the enormous talents of the soulful Jennifer Hudson, Callie Khouri, and our incredible producers.”
Also Read: Aretha Franklin Documentary ‘Amazing Grace’ Acquired by Neon for Early 2019 Release
The film covers the life of the late Queen of Soul, from singing as a child in her father’s church’s choir to becoming an iconic superstar and civil rights activist with 20 No.
