Meet the Visionary Bringing Aretha Franklin’s Biopic ‘Respect’ to Life
Production design is a White boy’s field, but Ina Mayhew broke that mold
When the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect comes out (hopefully later this year), you can credit production designer Ina Mayhew for how it looks. It’s her job to create sets and designs that make the location real. It won’t just be Jennifer Hudson, with sass and verve in her role of playing Aretha, who illustrates how the Detroit native became our first lady of soul. Mayhew’s work also helps bring that story to life.
“I study the things I need to build,” says Mayhew, a New York-based designer who is considered a legend by her peers. She has worked extensively with Dolly Parton, Tyler Perry, and Ava DuVernay and was personally tapped to work on the music video for Jay-Z’s 2018 cultural hit “Family Feud.” “You have to get it right,” she says.
Part of getting it right includes studying architecture and art of the time period, the significance of colors and textures in furniture and carpets and wall…
