Denzel Washington and Halle Berry are two of the most accomplished black American actors of the past three decades. Unfortunately, the Academy Award winners have yet to appear on the big screen together.
Aretha Franklin hopes to finally bring Washington and Berry together to appear in the same film. She has released a wish list of actors to be featured in a biopic that focuses on her life and career. Franklin wants Berry to play a younger version of her and she recruited Washington to play her father, C.L. Franklin. She also wants Terrence Howard to play Smokey Robinson.
Although producers suggested to Franklin that Jennifer Hudson should portray her, the Queen of Soul insists on Berry being the first candidate. A tandem of Berry and Washington could be dynamic. But when it comes to portraying Franklin, Hudson appears to be the better fit due to her vocal abilities and physical similarities to a younger Franklin.
The film will be based off the book Aretha: From These Roots and will go into production in 2011. –a.r.
