PennyPurple said:

Aretha Franklin Gimme your love Purple version remixed by PRINCE

Aretha Franklin Talks About Prince

[Edited 8/18/18 16:52pm]

rogifan said:

PennyPurple said:

From Billboard

Aretha Franklin’s funeral will be held Aug. 31 in her hometown of Detroit.

The late singer’s publicist, Gwendolyn Quinn, said Friday (Aug. 17) that the funeral, to be held at Greater Grace Temple, is limited to the Queen of Soul’s family and friends.

Public viewings will take place Aug. 28-29 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

This is nice to hear. I still wish Prince’s family had done something for fans...didn’t have to be a public memorial service but just something where fans could come together and grieve with each other. Lake Ann Park is right across the street from Paisley. Could’ve held something there.

i'm glad it was small and private, not some show like MJ's and whitneys.

PeteSilas said:

rogifan said:

PennyPurple said: This is nice to hear. I still wish Prince’s family had done something for fans...didn’t have to be a public memorial service but just something where fans could come together and grieve with each other. Lake Ann Park is right across the street from Paisley. Could’ve held something there.

i'm glad it was small and private, not some show like MJ's and whitneys.

The orger Hatrina said she was going to go since she lives in Detroit; I hope she talks about her experience on here... She said that people were singing. danding, and crying on public transit in Detroit--now that's a memorial...

purplethunder3121 said:

PeteSilas said:

i'm glad it was small and private, not some show like MJ's and whitneys.

The orger Hatrina said she was going to go since she lives in Detroit; I hope she talks about her experience on here... She said that people were singing. danding, and crying on public transit in Detroit--now that's a memorial...

They had a spontaneous second line parade for Aretha here. Saw some footage on the news. There will probably be a planned one, if so I will go. It's pretty great, everybody dances down the streets behind neighborhood brass bands. Super funky. Prince had one but I was out of town when he passed. They had one for him at Jazzfest too.

Aretha on Screen: What’s the Fate of Jennifer Hudson Biopic and Embattled ‘Amazing Grace’ Doc?

Franklin was consulting on her biopic through her last days, but it still awaits a script. What her long-shelved 1972 concert movie awaits, meanwhile, is some amazing legal grace.

The Queen of Soul was never the queen of the big screen. At least when it came to playing someone other than herself, Aretha Franklin’s acting appearances were limited to her performance in “The Blues Brothers” and its sequel and an episode of “Room 222.” But in death, if not life, she may yet become a movie star, of sorts, if the producers of two long-gestating projects get their way. But it remains to be seen whether her death Thursday might accelerate or further bog down the path either project faces on the way to theaters.

One is a long-planned, authorized biopic now in the hands of MGM, which would star Jennifer Hudson as a young Aretha, and which Franklin was discussing on the phone with her collaborators up through last week. The other is a legendarily long-shelved documentary/concert film, “Amazing Grace,” that was filmed and abandoned in 1972, rescued and completed in 2010, and then lost to legal limbo as Franklin left its release tied up in court for the last eight years.

Variety spoke with the producers of both projects about where they stand, although “Amazing Grace” producer Alan Elliott was circumspect about where the star’s death leaves his years of in-and-out-of-court settlements and negotiations to release the film, saying only: “Ms. Franklin said, ‘I love the film.’ Unfortunately for all of us, she passed before we could share that love. ‘Amazing Grace’ is a testament to the timelessness of her devotion to music and God. Her artistry, her genius and her spirit are present in every note and every frame of the film. We look forward to sharing the film with the world soon.”

The untitled MGM drama, meanwhile, was happening not only with her approval but at her behest and under her complete control. It, too, has been talked up in some form or another for decades — if not for as many decades as “Amazing Grace,” then at least since the publication of her memoir, “Aretha: From These Roots,” in 1998. For years Franklin touted a script she was working on with “Ray” director Taylor Hackford and spoke publicly about how she hoped Halle Berry or possibly Audra McDonald would star. When Clive Davis took time at his pre-Grammy gala to say Hudson had signed on (followed by her performance of “Think” and “Respect”), some took it to mean the biopic was being fast-tracked. But there is no director or script, and some rights are still in the process of being acquired.

“We spoke many times a week, some weeks,” says Harvey Mason Jr., who’s produced about a dozen songs for Franklin and had come on board to produce the film within the last year and a half. “I knew she had been resting and recovering from different treatments, so some days she had more energy than others. But I definitely did not have any early indication that she was going to pass away. In the last conversation I had with her last week, she was really optimistic and talking a lot about the movie — and talking a lot about how excited she was to get back on the mic. ‘I just can’t wait to get back on the mic!’ — she was constantly saying that; that was her thing.”

Franklin had also talked about going back in the studio with Mason, but that hadn’t come to fruition, and the film was her primary creative concern in her final days. “She was my partner in doing this,” Mason says, “and we had a lot of hours invested with her in thinking and dreaming about how it would come out. So it’s hard on all levels. It’s really hard losing a friend, but then it’s also hard losing someone who’s a national treasure and whose music has changed the world. And then on the third level, it’s hard losing a partner in a movie. Hopefully we can make a film that people can remember her by and can look to for comfort and good memories and smiles.”

The focus on smiles confirms that Franklin wanted to make a biopic as upbeat as the autobiography, co-written with David Ritz, that reviewers described as “accentuating the positive.” (A later biography, also written by Ritz, took a more honest approach, which she disliked.) To that end, she wanted the script to focus on her early years, “showing her coming into her greatness and finding her voice and becoming the queen of soul.” Mason hadn’t heard of reports from the early 2000s that she was okay with making a Lifetime movie. “Whenever I spoke to her, she always wanted it to be an international blockbuster type of film, and she kept referencing ‘Ray’ or ‘Dreamgirls’ or the Tina Turner or Johnny Cash movies, saying, ‘Let’s push to make mine that special.’” Mason won’t say whether it’s set to officially be based on her memoir. “We’re not really divulging yet what it’s based on, but I can definitely tell you that it’s (also) based on my countless hours of conversations with Aretha and the notes that I’ve taken and things that we’ve gone back and forth on.”

Countless hours had also been spent in recent years talking about “Amazing Grace” — among lawyers, agents, managers and judges, all trying to sort out the mess that has kept the general public from seeing what many insiders who’ve seen it privately believe will come to be regarded as one of the great concert films of all time.

“Amazing Grace” nearly rivals Orson Welles’ “The Other Side of the Wind” as having had the most tortured and convoluted path to the screen. Director Sydney Pollack, hot off his first Oscar nomination for “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?,” shot the footage over two nights at a Baptist church in Watts in 1972, as Franklin was recording the album of the same name, which would soon become her bestselling project and the most successful gospel album ever. The “Amazing Grace” LP jacket even included a printed admonition to look for the forthcoming film from “Sidney (sic) Pollack.” But, being a documentary novice, Pollack didn’t use clapper boards for any of the five 16mm cameras that captured 20 hours of footage, and frustrated editors weren’t able to piece together even a complete song from the fragmented images and sound. In the fall of ‘72 Warner Bros. shelved and wrote off the film and Pollack moved on to “The Way We Were.”

Pollack faxed Franklin about possibly taking another crack at it in the late ‘90s, but it wasn’t till the mid-2000s when Elliott took a more passionate interest in looking at the raw footage. With some nudging from agent Ari Emanuel and friends Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Elliott was able to buy the unfinished film from Warner Bros., and Pollack, by then terminally ill, urged Elliott to tackle it on his own. He found a digital company that was able to synch sound and picture in a way not possible three and a half decades earlier. But when a trailer was released in 2010, Franklin sued to stop its release, claiming unlicensed use of her likeness.

Thus began a process even more intractable than synching sight and sound: synching lawyers. Elliott made an out-of-court settlement with Franklin, agreeing to put off the release indefinitely because it seemed that she alone had not signed a release for the film. Then Warner Bros. found in the archives a personal services contract signed by Franklin in 1968, shortly after mergers and acquisitions had generated a new Warner corporate umbrella that included both the Warner Seven Arts division and her then-label, Atlantic. Elliott contended he no longer had to abide by the settlement because he had produced the contract he said covered her work on the film, and he ultimately made plans to premiere it at Toronto and Telluride. On the eve of the latter fest, Franklin pulled the Telluride fest’s lawyers into court in Denver and got an injunction. The last legal rendering, put forth by that Colorado judge three summers ago, was that both parties negotiate in good faith to arrive at an agreement.

At Toronto in 2015, where the film was also enjoined from public screening, Elliott’s camp made a multi-million dollar deal with Lionsgate that included the $1 million they were being told Franklin wanted to approve its release, which would have included her filming an introduction and doing press. That deal fell apart when Franklin failed to sign off on the deal. A year later, a different deal was made with Concord, again with a million set aside for Franklin, and Elliott took a print back to Telluride, believing her lawyers were going to fax him her signature in time for a premiere. That never happened, although it wasn’t clear whether she soured on the deal, was never aware of it, or was just operating on a well-known preference for oral deals over contracts.

Since then, sources say, there’s been little negotiating, leaving Elliott wondering where that leaves the Colorado judge’s 2015 order. Hopes of igniting Franklin’s approval faded as her health took a turn for the worse and she focused her film-related attention on the biopic. Whether her estate will take a greater interest in signing off on a third deal — if Elliott can find another distributor interested in taking the risk — is still an open question.

Franklin didn’t lack for attempts at friendly persuasion in her lifetime. Mick Jagger, who is seen amid the congregation with Charlie Watts at the original taping, publicly stated his eagerness to see the picture. Questlove wrote on his blog in 2015 that, as a fan, he had personally tried to convince her in his six previous encounters with her to approve the film, saying, “Of all the ‘inside industry’ stuff I’ve been privy to learn about, nothing has tortured my soul more than knowing that one of the greatest recorded moments in gospel history was just gonna sit and collect dust… I plead, much to her chagrin, ‘Please sign off on this film so the world can truly know you are the greatest.’…. This is easily Oscar documentary material.”

If Questlove were to prove right on that prediction, Pollack could be Oscar-nominated more than 10 years after his death, and somewhere close to half a century after shooting the film. But until such a thing happens, “Amazing Grace” may remain the most famous film ever to be exhibited almost exclusively at the William Morris screening room.

As for Franklin’s dream biopic, Mason isn’t any more likely to predict a release date. “With Aretha’s passing,” he says, “obviously we don’t have those conversations that were taking place up to as late as a week ago, so we really have to take a beat here and reassess how we’re going to move forward. But I feel like I know what the standards are that she was expecting and what needs to be done so we can do this in a way that really honors her and carries out her wishes. Some of it will be determined by how quickly the script comes together. And since Jennifer is filming a couple other movies and does ‘The Voice,’ sitting down and figuring out her schedule will determine a lot of things. But it’s hard to do when we’ve just lost a legend.”

^^ Whoa, that is a huge wall of text.

poppys said:

purplethunder3121 said:

The orger Hatrina said she was going to go since she lives in Detroit; I hope she talks about her experience on here... She said that people were singing. danding, and crying on public transit in Detroit--now that's a memorial...

They had a spontaneous second line parade for Aretha here. Saw some footage on the news. There will probably be a planned one, if so I will go. It's pretty great, everybody dances down the streets behind neighborhood brass bands. Super funky. Prince had one but I was out of town when he passed. They had one for him at Jazzfest too.

I hope you get to go if there is a planned Aretha memorial; for myself, concerning Prince, I went to see The Revolution concerts twice, once in my town and the first time with my son (who I took to nine Prince concerts) and his new fiance. That was the best memorial that I could have gone to, for myself. The added plus was hearing Stokley Williams put his own take on some Prince vocals and he did it wonderfully... Hope you get your catharsis for Prince...and Aretha. For Aretha, all I have to do is remember all the decades I blasted her music on my stereo for people I knew...

purplethunder3121 said:

poppys said:

They had a spontaneous second line parade for Aretha here. Saw some footage on the news. There will probably be a planned one, if so I will go. It's pretty great, everybody dances down the streets behind neighborhood brass bands. Super funky. Prince had one but I was out of town when he passed. They had one for him at Jazzfest too.

I hope you get to go if there is a planned Aretha memorial; for myself, concerning Prince, I went to see The Revolution concerts twice, once in my town and the first time with my son (who I took to nine Prince concerts) and his new fiance. That was the best memorial that I could have gone to, for myself. The added plus was hearing Stokley Williams put his own take on some Prince vocals and he did it wonderfully... Hope you get your catharsis for Prince...and Aretha. For Aretha, all I have to do is remember all the decades I blasted her music on my stereo for people I knew...

That's very cool. I have a great space to dance here in my little loft with real high ceilings.

A second line parade is made up of people who would usually be spectators anywhere else but instead they follow on the street behind the band. The band might only be a few horns and drums, or more depending. Mostly just regular people of all ages dancing, sometimes for a long long way. They have them in the Caribbean too but they're called tramps.

poppys said:

purplethunder3121 said:

I hope you get to go if there is a planned Aretha memorial; for myself, concerning Prince, I went to see The Revolution concerts twice, once in my town and the first time with my son (who I took to nine Prince concerts) and his new fiance. That was the best memorial that I could have gone to, for myself. The added plus was hearing Stokley Williams put his own take on some Prince vocals and he did it wonderfully... Hope you get your catharsis for Prince...and Aretha. For Aretha, all I have to do is remember all the decades I blasted her music on my stereo for people I knew...

That's very cool. I have a great space to dance here in my little loft with real high ceilings.

A second line parade is made up of people who would usually be spectators anywhere else but instead they follow on the street behind the band. The band might only be a few horns and drums, or more depending. Mostly just regular people of all ages dancing, sometimes for a long long way. They have them in the Caribbean too but they're called tramps.

I would love something like that... I remember when they used to have New Orleans type funeral processions here where people would dress up, dance, sing, play instruments, and follow the hearse in the street. Now, that's the way to go out... Haven't seen that in many years...

Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business) (1967)....now that's the doctor I want

JabarR74 said:

RIP to the Queen Of Soul, she's with family now.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkVbvO-0_kk[/youtube

Way to ruin a mourning.

JabarR74 said:

bonatoc said:

Way to ruin a mourning.

You're the one ruining it by mourning!!!!! I'm celebrating the Legend that is Queen Aretha!!!!!!!!

JabarR74 said:

bonatoc said:

Way to ruin a mourning.

You're the one ruining it by mourning!!!!! I'm celebrating the Legend that is Queen Aretha!!!!!!!!

Maybe not bon's favorite tribute song.

[Edited 8/20/18 15:27pm]

Second Line Culture In New Orleans

Aretha Franklin Second Line Tonight

• Posted on 20 Aug, 2018
  
  

Let’s all get together tonight and pay tribute to our lost queen: Ms Aretha Franklin

Monday August 20th

6pm

1931 Orleans Avenue


My friend just called and said you're supposed to wear Pink & White.

[Edited 8/20/18 15:56pm]

rogifan said:

If TMZ is to be believed Aretha had no will. Her estate will be evenly divided amongst her 4 children.

Hmm another one without a will. Hopefully the kids won't start fighting each other over the estate.

poppys said:

JabarR74 said:

You're the one ruining it by mourning!!!!! I'm celebrating the Legend that is Queen Aretha!!!!!!!!

Maybe not bon's favorite tribute song.

[Edited 8/20/18 15:27pm]

What can I say? Clarence (of all sax playaz!) epitomized the ugliness of the sax of the eighties
in this tired display of sub-par delivery.
"Freeway Of Love" tastes like cocaine.

Now, cut that Billboard bullshit.
Let us wash our ears and purify our souls,
here comes the Queen on her rightful throne.

[Edited 8/21/18 17:25pm]

bonatoc said:

poppys said:

Maybe not bon's favorite tribute song.

What can I say? Clarence epitomized the ugly sax of the eighties
in this tired display of sub-par delivery. The whole thing tastes like cocaine.

Now, cut that Billboard bullshit.
Let us wash our ears and purify our souls,
here comes the Queen on her rightful throne.

YAAASSSS!

Here's the Aretha second line footage. They didn't get a permit in time to parade so they hung out and danced. Maybe they'll try again, lol. The pink & white was happening though. The Baby Dolls krewe came out with some finery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkk9UbiBB_A

Not much footage but they do mention Prince at the beginning.

[Edited 8/21/18 20:04pm]

rogifan said:

If TMZ is to be believed Aretha had no will. Her estate will be evenly divided amongst her 4 children.

I don't get it. Aretha had been battling cancer for several years. I don't know why she wouldn't have a will. Since there was no will and if she owned the masters of those later Atlantic albums, I think we may have a better chance of seeing those titles reissued on CD now.

kitbradley said:

rogifan said:

If TMZ is to be believed Aretha had no will. Her estate will be evenly divided amongst her 4 children.

I don't get it. Aretha had been battling cancer for several years. I don't know why she wouldn't have a will. Since there was no will and if she owned the masters of those later Atlantic albums, I think we may have a better chance of seeing those titles reissued on CD now.

Plus she has a special needs son that has to be cared for the rest of his life. But Aretha never felt she was going to die. She was a strong woman for fighting it for so long.Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive cancer.

Aretha didn't have a will.What is up with her and Prince?! When you a multi-millionaire,a will is VERY important.

PennyPurple said:

Looks like it may turn into a big thing because of no will. Wonder why her niece wants to be appointed as personal representative?

(CNN)When legendary singer Aretha Franklin died, she did not have a will or trust. Her four sons have filed a document listing themselves as interested parties, reports say.

Franklin died last week from advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Aretha Franklin funeral s...in Detroit

In addition to her sons' filing, Franklin's niece has asked the court to appoint her as a personal representative of the estate, the Detroit Free Press reported. It said under Michigan law, if an unmarried person dies without a will, his or her assets are divided equally among any children.

Franklin's lawyer has represented her in entertainment matters for nearly three decades, and told the paper that he constantly asked her to do a trust, but she never got around to it.

"I was after her for a number of years to do a trust," Los Angeles attorney Don Wilson told the paper. "It would have expedited things and kept them out of probate and kept things private."

Wilson is Franklin's attorney in copyright matters, song publishing and record deals, and will be consulted on estate planning purposes. He said while he doesn't have a dollar figure on the value of her assets, the lack of a will means the finances will become public in Oakland County Probate Court.

"I just hope (Franklin's estate) doesn't end up getting so hotly contested," Wilson said. "Any time they don't leave a trust or will, there always ends up being a fight."

That red bolded, Sounds like somebody in my family!!! How about some of you all here, does your parents take care of business and have a Will or Trust or are they doing just like Aretha and Prince (None)???

Schedule for Aretha Funeral and Tribute Concert


A public memorial and tribute concert will be held next week for Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16, and it’s slated to be a star-studded send-off.

TMZ reports that 23 artists will perform at the service, including Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley, Raheem DeVaughn, and more — a Patti LaBelle cameo, perhaps? — with Louis Farrakhan also attending. The memorial will be held at the Chene Park Amphitheatre in Detroit on August 30, following two days of public viewings at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

On August 31, a private funeral will then be held that reportedly features 19 more performers, including Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, and more. (Additionally, Clive Davis is reportedly planning his own tribute concert at Madison Square Garden for November.)

Public Memorial

The Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley, Kiki Sheard, Kurt Carr, Jean Carne, Doug Carn, Ronnie McNeir, L.J. Reynolds, Tasha Page-Lockhart, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Bobby Jones, Jenifer Lewi, George Faison, Angie Stone, Raheem DeVaughn, Gracie Franklin, Eddie Franklin, Victorie Franklin, Santita Jackson, Ralphe Armstrong Band, Kern Brantley Band Private

Funeral

Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Ronald Isley, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, The Clark Sisters, Jennifer Holliday, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Marvin Sapp, The Williams Brothers, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Audrey DuBois Harris, Alice McAllister Tillman, Edward Franklin, Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir

http://www.vulture.com/20...ibute.html

I hope the funeral is televised. Some incredible performers! Only the best to help take the Queen out in style!

[Edited 8/23/18 16:54pm]

Now that's a fantastic send off.

kitbradley said:

Schedule for Aretha Funeral and Tribute Concert


A public memorial and tribute concert will be held next week for Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16, and it’s slated to be a star-studded send-off.

TMZ reports that 23 artists will perform at the service, including Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley, Raheem DeVaughn, and more — a Patti LaBelle cameo, perhaps? — with Louis Farrakhan also attending. The memorial will be held at the Chene Park Amphitheatre in Detroit on August 30, following two days of public viewings at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

On August 31, a private funeral will then be held that reportedly features 19 more performers, including Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, and more. (Additionally, Clive Davis is reportedly planning his own tribute concert at Madison Square Garden for November.)

Public Memorial

The Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley, Kiki Sheard, Kurt Carr, Jean Carne, Doug Carn, Ronnie McNeir, L.J. Reynolds, Tasha Page-Lockhart, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Bobby Jones, Jenifer Lewi, George Faison, Angie Stone, Raheem DeVaughn, Gracie Franklin, Eddie Franklin, Victorie Franklin, Santita Jackson, Ralphe Armstrong Band, Kern Brantley Band Private

Funeral

Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Ronald Isley, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, The Clark Sisters, Jennifer Holliday, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Marvin Sapp, The Williams Brothers, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Audrey DuBois Harris, Alice McAllister Tillman, Edward Franklin, Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir

http://www.vulture.com/20...ibute.html

I hope the funeral is televised. Some incredible performers! Only the best to help take the Queen out in style!

[Edited 8/23/18 16:54pm]

[Edited 8/23/18 19:26pm]