Aretha Franklin Picks Halle Berry to Play ‘Older Aretha’ Onscreen

Having won a Golden Globe for her turn as Dorothy Dandridge, Halle Berry isn't a stranger to stepping into another person's life. According to Aretha Franklin, the actress is willing to do it again. 

Despite still recovering from her recent health scare, the legendary singer called into the Wendy Williams show and discussed plans for an upcoming film about her life.    "For the last four years, we've been talking about that and I have had a number of offers but unfortunately, they were not good offers," she said. "Now, we have something on the table. They have all of the financing on one project and the second project, he's in the process of writing things for me to approve on the tele-film."   When asked who would be playing her, Franking responded: "Halle Berry is my pick for the older Aretha. There's a young Aretha that has yet to be named."   In September, according to The Associated Press, Franklin sent out a press release in which she listed her ideal cast for a film based on her memoir "Aretha: From These Roots."    Berry was joined on the list by Denzel Washington as Franklin's father and Terrence Howard as Smokey Robinson. The release mentioned the actors were, "enthusiastic about the project and have agreed to take on these roles, subject to further negotiation."