Back in January,
I told you all that Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson was in negotiations to co-star in Tyler Perry's new film,
The Family the Preys Together (which will be released in September) alongside Perry, Sanaa Lathan, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Rockmond Dunbar, Taraji Henson and Robin Givens. Well, the key word in that post was "negotiations." Hudson will not be in the film; however she will appear on the big screen on October 17, 2008 in
The Secret Life of Bees (based on Sue Monk Kidd's bestselling novel) alongside Alica Keys, Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and Sophie Okonedo. Set in South Carolina in 1964, the film is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (played by Hilari Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen (Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Okonedo and Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping, honey and the Black Madonna. “It’s very raw, very raw. It affected each of us in some kind of way,” says Hudson. “Like with me, I had to do research like crazy on the civil rights movement. That messed with my mind. And then I had to fight three white men because I was my own stunt double. Dakota, Queen and Tristan (Wilds) had to go to bee school and learn how to deal with bees. Alicia had to learn how to play the cello. I’ve never had to be this involved in anything in my life! I had to touch a bug. I had a fit, honey. I nearly lost my mind! It was a beetle, but luckily, it was beautiful.”
In other Hudson news, the singer is reportedly getting a few stings after her self-titled album cover
(click picture on the right to see its full image), which shows a tiny-waist, slimmed-down, svelte figure of the singer hit the Internet recently. Sources have denied that Hudson’s photo was retouched using photo shop. Some reports claim record label execs at J Records implemented the same photo-retouching experts used on the cover of Mariah Carey's latest album. Nothing doing. "Yes, that’s Hudson’s waist and her ample top half. She has a thin waist,” the insider insists. Hudson's album is scheduled to hit stores on September 30, 2008. There’s also talk, Hudson says, of recording a song for the soundtrack of
The Secret Life of Bees, with costars Latifah and Keys. “It would be an honor for me to do a song with them,” Hudson cooed.
... 
