DETROIT – Aretha Franklin’s niece spoke to Local 4′s Evrod Cassimy about the newly released trailer for the movie that will profile her aunt’s life.
The trailer just adds to the excitement for Cristal Franklin. She’s anxiously anticipating the world seeing her aunt’s life story on the big screen, but she does have a few reasons to be nervous.
A trailer provided our first look at the new Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson. The lead actress of the film was hand-picked by the late Queen of Soul herself.
“I think she’s brought a lot of grace and class to the role,” Franklin said. “One thing about Jennifer is she’s a singer and my aunt was a singer. So I’m not so much nervous about the singing aspect.”
But what Cristal Robin Aretha Franklin is nervous about when it comes to the movie's release is understandable. In fact, she prefers to see the movie before the general public.
“Because I don’t want to sit in a room with people who do not know me or my family while watching it,” she said. “I don’t want to hear anybody gasp, I don’t wanna hear cries, I don’t wanna hear--I just wanna be able to watch this in a safe space with my family, digest it, sleep on it, next morning continue because they’re portraying my father and my mother.”
While Aretha will never get to see the final cut of the movie she was so excited to have made, her niece knows she’ll be looking down smiling.
“I think she would be proud,” she said. “She would be excited, she would be extremely nervous like the rest of us are. I think she would have allowed Jennifer to wear her gowns and some of her jewels.”
From what she’s seen of Jennifer’s portrayal of her aunt, Franklin said, “You did that, Jennifer!”
Cristal Franklin started a clothing line in her aunt’s honor called the Queen Edition, which she and other family members plan to wear to the movie screening when it’s released in December.