SANTA BARBARA BOWL
It’s been more than 50 years and we’re still not over Aretha Franklin. It’s doubtful we ever will be. This is especially true now that her double platinum album “Amazing Grace” is being memorialized in a Warner Bros. concert film debuting next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 1972 footage was done by late director Sydney Pollack. He had recorded back stage while Aretha performed a set of gospel songs in a Los Angeles church. That set ended up being the biggest selling album of Franklin’s career to this day. Check out the trailer of the Aretha Franklin documentary ‘Lost’ – finally ready for release 43 years after its filming.
But wait, theres more! Yet another big screen development for the Queen of Soul is on the table. The long running rumors of Oscar winning Jennifer Hudson playing Franklin in an upcoming biopic now have some merit. Hudson’s representative has acknowledged that conversations about the role have occurred although she has not been officially cast.
This picture is going to be some serious film action by the same producer of “Straight Outta Compton,” Scott Bernstein. That film grossed $60.2 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend by following the story of the three members of the N.W.A. On the other hand, this movie will focus solely on one of the top selling female musicians of all time. Aretha Franklin was the first female induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and won 18 Grammy awards amongst countless others.
The film has been in the works for years with Franklin’s blessing. Although it is yet to be heard when the film will shoot – much less released – Jennifer Hudson already seems to be a respectable fit for the role. Here she is proving her counterpart vocals at her Aretha tribute during the 2014 BET awards.
