Episode 67: Tracey Scott Wilson, "Respect"

Host Geri Cole is joined by Tracey Scott Wilson, writer of the Aretha Franklin biopic RESPECT, about writing the film’s screenplay on a very expedited timeline, how being a playwright has informed her film & television career, and her creative process – which includes writing in longhand and starting each day reading scripts.

Tracey Scott Wilson is an accomplished television writer, producer and playwright. She served as a co-executive producer on FOSSE/VERDON and MORNING SHOW. Before that, she was co-executive producer on the award-winning series THE AMERICANS, where she wrote for 4 seasons and received two Writers Guild awards, two Peabody awards and a Golden Globe. Her plays include BUZZER, THE GOOD NEGRO, and THE STORY. She is the winner of multiple awards for her work as a playwright, including 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, the 2004 Whiting Award, the 2004 Kesserling Prize, the 2007 Weissberger Playwriting Award, and the 2007 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the O’Neil National Playwriting Conference.

Her latest project is the Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT. The film follows the rise of Aretha Franklin's career — from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom — and tells the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice. The film was released in August 2021 and is available to rent or buy on major streaming platforms.

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