The Grammy Museum will host a panel discussion keyed to the new Aretha Franklin biopic Respect on Aug. 12. The discussion will feature the film’s star, Jennifer Hudson, as well as Stephen Bray and Jason Michael Webb. Variety‘s Chris Willman will moderate.
Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy CEO, co-produced the film with Scott Bernstein, but he is not expected to appear.
Respect was long in development. Franklin was involved with the early development of the film, including the casting of Hudson, up until her death in August 2018. In January 2019, Liesl Tommy was set to direct the film. Filming took place in Atlanta from September 2019 to February 2020.
Respect is scheduled to be theatrically released in the U.S. on Aug. 13, a full year after its original scheduled release date. The release date was bumped a few times because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film’s soundtrack, set for release that same day on Epic, will feature one original song, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home),” performed by Hudson. Written by Hudson, Carole King, and Jamie Hartman and produced by will.i.am, the song was released on June 18.
Hudson won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her first film, Dreamgirls (2006). She played Effie White, a role inspired by the sad story of Florence Ballard, a founding member of the The Supremes who was replaced in the group in 1967 and died in 1976.
While Ballard is seen as a tragic figure, Franklin is the eternal Queen of Soul. She won 18 Grammys in competition, including a record eight consecutive awards for best R&B vocal performance, female. In addition, she received the Grammy legend award in 1991 and a lifetime achievement award in 1994.
Hudson and Bray are also Grammy winners. Hudson won best R&B album for her eponymous 2008 debut and best musical theater album as a principal soloist on The Color Purple (2016). Bray also won in that category as a composer/lyricist of the show. As a member of The Breakfast Club, Bray was a 1985 best new artist nominee.
Below is the August schedule on COLLECTION:live featuring interviews and/or performances.
New programs to be released this month:
Aug. 5
Rodney Crowell
Howard Grimes
Gavin Turek
Aug. 12
Respect: panel discussion with Jennifer Hudson, Stephen Bray, and Jason Michael Webb, moderated by Variety‘s Chris Willman
Aug. 19
James McMurtry
Arlo Parks
Maisie Peters
Aug. 26
Merry Clayton with Lou Adler
Anderson East
Saint Motel
Jon Randall
Archived programs to be released this month (from August 2019):
311
Cherie Currie & Brie Darling
Celebrating Ernie Kovacs
Local Natives
Of Monsters & Men
COLLECTION:live is the Grammy Museum’s online streaming service available for $2.99/month or $29.99/year. Proceeds benefit the museum’s music education initiatives. New digital programming continues to be released each month. The Grammy Museum’s physical location has re-opened to the public.
COLLECTION:live is the Grammy Museum’s online streaming service, featuring newly-produced artist interviews, performances and livestreams, as well as releases from the Grammy Museum archive. The museum’s popular Public Programs series has been recorded over the last decade from the Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles and has since surpassed the 1,000 program mark. Proceeds benefit the museum’s music education initiatives.
For more information, visit grammymuseum.org.
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