Sometimes a casting rumor sounds almost too perfect to be true. Take this one for instance. News syndicator WENN is reporting that Dreamgirls star and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson has been cast to play the great Aretha Franklin in a biopic about her life.
Hudson of course, has been compared to Franklin with regularity since critics heard her big, bosomy voice booming out theater speakers at screenings of Dreamgirls. So for her to end up playing Aretha already, seems almost too cute.
But, the word is that she’s doing it. Aretha herself reportedly showed up backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (the one where Van Halen did not play) and broke the news. The film will be based on a soon to be released book about Aretha’s life. The book is already being turned into a stage play, and now I guess they’re doing a movie as well. The musician biopic thing is already pretty well played out, but maybe making one about a female performer can give it some new life.
