The remarkable life of ‘the queen of soul’ Aretha Franklin is retold in Director Liesl Tommy’s biographical drama, Respect.
Tommy’s film follows Franklin from her early days singing in her father's church choir as a child, through her journey to find her voice in the midst of the turbulent social and political landscape of 1960s America and becoming an international musical superstar and legend.
On August 7, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Tommy discussed the making of Respect during a Q&A moderated by Director Robert Townsend (Playin' for Love). She also spoke about the film with Director Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version) following the New York screening on August 14.
During the Los Angeles conversation, Tommy revealed how an earlier day job working with at risk toddlers added to her skill set as a Director. “Sometimes I honestly feel that was the best strategy training for working with actors. What I learned in those rooms with those little children is that it is not about me. Anytime I made it about me, you were never gonna’ win. It was really just about making sure that they were okay. Once you get into a battle of wills, it just didn't work.”
She echoed those thoughts in her answer to the question what she thought makes an amazing Director. “I think it has to start with curiosity. I think you have to care about people places and things. If you don't care, if you don't have curiosity about the world we live in… that's the core of being a storyteller. When you're a storyteller, you have to have a voracious curiosity. Those are the people whose work I respond to the most.”
Tommy’s other directorial credits include episodes of Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, Mrs. Fletcher, Jessica Jones, The Walking Dead, Insecure, Dietland and Queen Sugar. She has been a DGA member since 2018.
You can listen to Tommy's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.