Preview: The Academy Award-winning actor talks with « CBS Sunday Morning » about her friendship with the music legend, who handpicked Hudson for the starring role in the new biopic.
Academy Award- and Grammy-winner Jennifer Hudson portrays the late music icon Aretha Franklin in the new film « Respect, » set to hit theaters August 13. It’s a role Hudson was handpicked to play by Franklin, long before she died in 2018. Hudson opens up about her friendship with Franklin, how she portrayed the legend, and how she drew on her own life to enrich the performance, in an interview with correspondent Kelefa Sanneh for « CBS Sunday Morning, » to be broadcast August 1. As the story goes, Franklin was so impressed with Hudson’s 2006 performance in « Dreamgirls, » that she wanted the former « American Idol » contestant to play her when the time came. « The very first thing Aretha said to me when we sat down was, ‘You’re going to win an Oscar for playing me, right?' » Hudson recalled.
