Aretha Franklin biopic close

Aretha Franklin is 'hammering out' the final details for a movie about her life.

The film has been in the pipeline for several years. The 69-year-old soul star previously revealed draft scripts are being prepared and now she insists the project is progressing.

'We're hammering out the last details,' Aretha revealed this week.

Aretha has made no secret of her desire to see Halle Berry play the lead role. However, the Oscar-winning actress reportedly turned down the part earlier this year due to concerns about her singing voice.

Despite rumours Halle won't be involved, Aretha is still confident the beauty is the perfect choice to play her.

'Halle Berry,' she said. ' think Halle Berry's gonna get it.'

Aretha previously expressed a wish for Denzel Washington and Terrence Howard to appear in the movie. The star wants Denzel to play her father C.L. Franklin - who was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader - and believes Terrence would be perfect for the role of Smokey Robinson.

The movie will be based upon her bestselling 1999 autobiography Aretha: From These Roots.

't will be a chronological depiction of my advent from Detroit to New York as a young, aspiring singer... It's going to be pretty straight-up. People who have followed my career from A to Z, they already know some of the things, but there will be other things that are not known," she recently told Billboard.com.

Aretha has also hinted she has secured a director who has enjoyed 'several blockbusters' in the last decade.

The Queen of Soul is deeply committed to seeing her biopic on the big screen.

She is also busy with her singing career. She will duet with Tony Bennett at the Metropolitan Opera House later this month.

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