George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa, Cicely Tyson and Carole King
were feted at the annual Kennedy Center Honors recently, but it was
Detroit’s Queen of Soul who stole the show at the star-studded ceremony
which aired Tuesday night.
Aretha Franklin took to the stage
holding a glittery clutch and wearing a floor-length fur coat to sing
Carol King’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Franklin started
the song seated, confidently accompanying herself on the piano, which
caused King’s mouth to drop (and her reactions only got more emotional
from there).
Before Franklin was finished with the first verse, President Barack Obama could be seen wiping a tear from his eye.
Franklin
passed off the piano duties to another musician, and stood center
stage, belting out the tune, which she released as a single in 1967. It
was co-written by King, Gerry Goffin and Atlantic Records producer Jerry
Wexler, and became a hit for Franklin when it reached No. 8 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Stars like Rosie Perez, Michele Obama and King
herself could be seen singing along from the audience. A vision of Viola
Davis, who was in attendance to pay tribute to actress Cicely Tyson,
was shown smiling with both arms raised in the air.
Upon shedding her fur coat at the apex of the song, Franklin received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The
gala was filmed Dec. 6 at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington,
D.C. Members of the band the Eagles were also set to be honored this
year, but their presentation was postponed to 2016 due to Detroit native
Glenn Frey’s health problems.
Since 1978 the Kennedy Center
Honors have been given to members of the performing arts community for
their lifetime contributions to American culture. Franklin was
recognized in 1994.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Aretha Franklin documentary blocked from Telluride film festival by judge
A
federal judge in Colorado has granted an injunction to halt the opening
night premiere of Amazing Grace, a documentary which features footage
of the singer shot by Sydney Pollack in 1972
Amazing Grace, the highly-anticipated documentary about singing legend Aretha Franklin, has been pulled from the programme at the Telluride film festival following legal action by its subject.
On Friday – the day of its screening – Franklin filed a complaint against Telluride claiming that the footage “was taken with the express understanding that it would not be used commercially without agreement and consent by Ms Franklin”.
US District Judge John Kane, who serves in Colorado, imposed a temporary restraining order on the movie, meaning that its producers are blocked from showing it for a fortnight. A court spokesperson said there would then be another hearing as the litigation proceeds.
Earlier in the day, Telluride’s executive director, Julie Huntsinger, told press that the screening would proceed as planned. “[Franklin’s] lawyers are trying to stop us from showing the film,” she said. “Let’s just hope the paperwork that is filed has us covered. But [Franklin] should be proud.”
Joe Boyd, one of the movie’s producers, told the Detroit Free-Press on Thursday: “We are operating under the existing contract between Aretha Franklin and Warner Bros, which has governed the use of footage from this session in the past.”
The film, which uses footage from a 1972 concert by Franklin and was originally part of an unfinished film by the late Sydney Pollack, is also scheduled to show in six days time at the Toronto film festivals. Its documentary programmer, Thom Powers, told Deadline that they were still intending to screen and said they “haven’t heard of any legal procedures regarding the film in Toronto”.
Franklin’s complaint says that “allowing the film to be shown violates Ms Franklin’s contractual rights, her intellectual property rights, her rights to use and control her name and likeness, and represents an invasion of her privacy. It is also in direct and specific violation of the quitclaim agreement by which the footage was obtained from the Warner Brothers organisation by Mr. Alan Elliott, the purported producer of Amazing Grace.”
It goes on to note that four years ago Franklin sued Elliott over the same issue, and “the lawsuit was resolved after Elliott agreed not to release the film”.
The singer is also seeking at least $75,000 in damages, as well as further financial penalties to “deter similar future misconduct by others”.
Amazing Grace, the highly-anticipated documentary about singing legend Aretha Franklin, has been pulled from the programme at the Telluride film festival following legal action by its subject.
On Friday – the day of its screening – Franklin filed a complaint against Telluride claiming that the footage “was taken with the express understanding that it would not be used commercially without agreement and consent by Ms Franklin”.
US District Judge John Kane, who serves in Colorado, imposed a temporary restraining order on the movie, meaning that its producers are blocked from showing it for a fortnight. A court spokesperson said there would then be another hearing as the litigation proceeds.
Earlier in the day, Telluride’s executive director, Julie Huntsinger, told press that the screening would proceed as planned. “[Franklin’s] lawyers are trying to stop us from showing the film,” she said. “Let’s just hope the paperwork that is filed has us covered. But [Franklin] should be proud.”
Joe Boyd, one of the movie’s producers, told the Detroit Free-Press on Thursday: “We are operating under the existing contract between Aretha Franklin and Warner Bros, which has governed the use of footage from this session in the past.”
The film, which uses footage from a 1972 concert by Franklin and was originally part of an unfinished film by the late Sydney Pollack, is also scheduled to show in six days time at the Toronto film festivals. Its documentary programmer, Thom Powers, told Deadline that they were still intending to screen and said they “haven’t heard of any legal procedures regarding the film in Toronto”.
Franklin’s complaint says that “allowing the film to be shown violates Ms Franklin’s contractual rights, her intellectual property rights, her rights to use and control her name and likeness, and represents an invasion of her privacy. It is also in direct and specific violation of the quitclaim agreement by which the footage was obtained from the Warner Brothers organisation by Mr. Alan Elliott, the purported producer of Amazing Grace.”
It goes on to note that four years ago Franklin sued Elliott over the same issue, and “the lawsuit was resolved after Elliott agreed not to release the film”.
The singer is also seeking at least $75,000 in damages, as well as further financial penalties to “deter similar future misconduct by others”.
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