Jennifer Hudson is getting ready for her big debut as Aretha Franklin in the upcoming biopic about the late singer’s life, ‘Respect’, a role she was specifically picked by Franklin herself to play Aretha.
The film, which comes out this Friday, held its big red carpet premiere tonight at the Regency Village and Bruin Theatre in Los Angeles, where of course Jennifer looked like royalty and stole the show.
The Chicago-born 39-year-old wore a strapless gown featuring a side slit and Christian Louboutin heels.
Jennifer’s show-stopping dress featured a dramatic sequin train spanning over six feet long.
Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson was stunning.
Hudson fully embodied the Queen of Souls and sang live on a fully licensed biographical set. It will be screened in US theaters this Friday and in the UK theaters on September 10.
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The $55M-budget movie centers on Aretha’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to international superstardom.
‘She’s still with me, almost every day in some way,’ the two-time Grammy winner – who had 80 wardrobe changes – told Variety last week.
‘Sometimes, coming off of the film, while taking pictures with someone, I’m like, “Oh wow, I’m smiling like Aretha.” Or “That response was more Aretha-like.” You identify little things like that in yourself that are still there. Or, a lot of my own personal wardrobe now is things that resemble things that she would wear — a lot of fluffy, furry little jackets with leopard prints and things like that.’
Jennifer continued: ‘Those things helped me embody character at times because clothing can make you feel like the character you’re portraying. And I still do the piano [after learning it for the film]. I’m still trying to master it. And guess what? The song I can play the most is Natural Woman so far.’
