Similarities to Aretha Franklin, however, are also hardly coincidental. Gottfried, Marvin (2007). [86][87], To give the story more exposure for the upcoming film release, DreamWorks and the licenser of the original play, The Tams-Witmark Music Library, announced that they would pay the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of Dreamgirls for the calendar year of 2006. Initially, Deena is a shy . Outside of the U.S., Dreamgirls opened in Australia on January 18, and in the United Kingdom on February 2. [9] Dreamgirls received eight NAACP Image Award nominations, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Outstanding Album (the soundtrack LP). It was about the whole performancehow they moved, the clothes they wore, how big their hair was. Dreamgirls (2006) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Bill Condon Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification Produced by Music by Tom Eyen Henry Krieger Cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [98] There is also a solo album, Just In Time, recorded by Deena Jones shown in the film, the album cover for which is based on Dionne Warwick's 1970 album, Very Dionne. ", The girl group era was also the civil rights era. The Effie White character from the Broadway play (and film) "Dreamgirls" is loosely based on Ballard. Says Warwick, "Even from the very beginning, their songs are a little more adult in the themes," such as in the songs "Where Did Our love Go" and "Stop in the Name of Love." [36] The award-winning Broadway lighting team of Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer were brought in to create theatrical lighting techniques for the film's musical numbers. Cast & Crew; Dreamgirls - Full Cast & Crew. Official Sites [100] On the other hand, Mary Wilson attended the film's Los Angeles premiere, later stating that Dreamgirls moved her to tears and that it was "closer to the truth than they even know". Many of the other original Dreamgirls Broadway cast members, among them Obba Babatund, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Cleavant Derricks, were interviewed for a Jet magazine article in which they discussed their varying opinions of both the Dreamgirls film's script and production. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. [95][96] The photo shoot montage which accompanies "When I First Saw You", as well as the subplot of Deena being forced to star in Curtis' Cleopatra film against her will, reflect both scenes from and the production of Mahogany, a 1975 Motown film starring Diana Ross and directed by Motown CEO Berry Gordy. Because of events like this, says Warwick, the figure of the non-white teenage girl was being politicized in America. Towards the end, Curtis notices Magic in the front row, realizing she is his daughter. ", Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, Best Actress Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture or Television, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards, "STAGE TO SCREENS: "Dreamgirls" Composer Krieger and Co-Star Rose; Plus David Warren". The girls rarely wrote their own songs, but neither did the male groups of the time. Who was the main character in Dreamgirls based on? Three Supremes albums Let the Sunshine In, Cream of the Crop, and Touch were reworked into Deena Jones & The Dreams album designs, with the only differences in the designs being the substitution of the names and images of the Supremes with those of Deena Jones & the Dreams. One thing is certain: by the time the women's movement arrived in the late 1960s, there was a generation of women used to standing on the stage and telling the world how they felt. Curtis Taylor, Jr. represents Motown Founder Berry Gordy. Sometime later, C.C., who feels Curtis is undermining his songs' artistic merit by making them into disco music, quits the label. By 1975, The Dreams give a farewell performance at the Detroit Theater, inviting Effie for the final song. There is even a brief appearance by a group resembling the young Jackson Five. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dreamgirls (Blu-ray, 2006) Jamie Foxx , Beyonce Knowles at the best online prices at eBay! ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Most of us are familiar with "Dreamgirls" through the 2006 film that garnered Jennifer Hudson an Oscar. In Dreamgirls, Murphy plays the role of Jimmy "Thunder" Early, an R&B star whose character falls on hard times when his former backup singers, the Dreamettes, find success. "I was just overcome every week by this, these incredible visions, they were just such beautiful girls in these beautiful gowns, singing the music that I was listening to all week on the radio. But they also sang about love and crushes, mostly from the position of a patiently waiting, yearning girl. The fantastic wigs look right, too. [71], Following the success of the Cannes screening, DreamWorks and Paramount began a widespread "For Your Consideration" advertisement campaign, raising several eyebrows by demoting Jennifer Hudson to consideration for Best Supporting Actress and presenting Beyonc Knowles as the sole Best Actress candidate, as opposed to having both compete for Best Actress awards. [22], Principal photography began January 6, 2006 with the filming of dance footage for the first half of "Steppin' to the Bad Side," footage later deleted from the film. Based loosely on the Supremes, Devine portrayed Lorrell Robinson (a character based on Mary . When Jimmy bombs in front of an all-white Miami Beach supper club audience, Curtis sends him out on the road alone, keeping The Dreamettes behind to headline in his place. Ballard never reunited with the other Primettes, unlike the sentimental ending to "Dreamgirls." She is an Academy Award-winning actress, Grammy Award-winning recording artist and best-selling author. 18 no. Left to right: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross AP Wire photo 1965 5, 537553. The movie, based on the 1981 Broadway play, tells the story of a small black record label and its star singers whose success crosses over to the pop charts. [84], For the opening performance at the 2007 BET Awards on June 26 of that year, Hudson performed a duet of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" with her predecessor, Jennifer Holliday. With three Golden Globe awards and eight Academy Award nominations, Dreamgirls has renewed interest in the girl groups of the 1960s as well as Motown Records, the Detroit-based company that became one of the most influential labels of the time. The plan falls apart, however, as Deena, increasingly angry over how Curtis controls her career, discovers his schemes and contacts Effie, who arrives in Los Angeles with C.C., Marty, and a lawyer. Deena Jones. Gaye was not only Motown's chief solo male vocal star, he was married to Gordy's sister. director of photography (as Tobias Schliessler) Film Editing by Virginia Katz Casting By | In the mid-to-late 1960s, they took on more of a tough girl image, wearing spike heels and tight leather pants to match their delinquent themes. However, Deena clandestinely hopes the film will never come to be, pursuing other acting gigs. Gordy, like his counterpart in the movie, had aspirations of making movies. 1 hits at the height of Beatlemania. Both men worked in the automotive industry before focusing on music, and integrated aspects of the automotive business into the music making process. Curtis promptly drops him from the label and Lorrell ends their affair. Movie. With Tom Eyen having died in 1991,[7] various lyricists were brought in by Krieger to co-author the new songs. The DVD version was issued in two editions: a one-disc standard version and a two-disc "Showstopper Edition". In any case, neither Franklin nor James ever belonged to the Supremes. Dreamgirls is a fictional work, adapted from a 1981 successful Broadway musical inspired by the real-life story and success of The Supremes. Khylah Eure, Mariah Goiran, Clara Alford and Kayla Carrington are tremendous as Featured Dancers. In 1967, Martha and The Vandellas were singing in Detriot when the riots broke out. [66] Holliday in particular objected to the fact that her 1982 recording of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was used in an early Dreamgirls film teaser trailer created before production began. "[22] Another Dreamgirls veteran present in the film is Hinton Battle, who was a summer replacement for James "Thunder" Early onstage and here portrays Curtis' aide-de-camp Wayne. As much as Deena Jones, Beyonc Knowles' character in "Dreamgirls," was modeled on Diana Ross, the film's main character, Effie White, was based on Etta James, according to composer Henry Krieger. The kind of dance styles employed by R&B acts hardly lend themselves to the choreography commonly found in Broadway productions. Presenting himself as their new manager, he recruits them as backup singers for Chitlin' Circuit R&B star Jimmy "Thunder" Early. Dreamgirls was the first DreamWorks film to be issued in a high definition home entertainment format. [19] After sending Geffen the first draft of his screenplay in January 2005, Condon's adaptation of Dreamgirls was greenlit. "For them to be on Ed Sullivanalmost every week it seemed likethat was a tremendous, incredible influence," Whitall remembers. [19][34] The scene was felt by everyone involved to be pivotal to the film, as "And I Am Telling You" was Jennifer Holliday's show-stopping number in the original Broadway musical. In 1962 Detroit, Michigan, young car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr. meets a Black girl group known as "The Dreamettes", consisting of lead singer Effie White and backup singers Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson, at an R&B amateur talent show at the Detroit Theatre. They sang to mixed audiences about courtship, boys, parties, parents and parents not letting them go to parties to court boys. [82] Dreamgirls also received a record eleven Black Reel Award nominations, and won six of the awards, among them Best Film. He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. [73] The film's failure to gain a Best Picture or Best Director nod was widely viewed by the entertainment press as a "snub" by the Academy. In casting Hudson, Condon recalled that he initially was not confident he'd made the right decision, but instinctively cast Hudson after she'd auditioned several times because he "just didn't believe any of the others. . Early's evolution is also marvelously reflected in his changing tonsorial and sartorial styles. [31] The presentation of Knowles over Hudson as the sole Best Actress candidate had interesting parallels with the film itself. "Creative License or 'Sour Grapes'? That isn't to say teenagers weren't also listening to the original Little Richard. But this song inevitably gained meaning from the times in which it was heard. The following year, Jimmy has descended into drug addiction due to Curtis' focus on Deena, along with the rejection of the charity single he recorded. And we were fourth. When my brother went into the military, I know how anxious I or my mother or sister would be looking for a letter or something like that from him. The film, and the original Broadway musical, are based heavily on The Supremes (later known as "Diana Ross & The Supremes"). "This is not a singer-songwriter thing, where they were coming in with their own material," she says. "Introduction". (Black Public Relations Wire) ", Christian, Margena A (Dec. 7, 2006). "[54] Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 rating, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Everywhere they went on tour that summer, there were riots. Teenage life became synonymous with pop culture, and with many of these teenagers having money to spend, the record market flourished. Both the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions were issued in two-disc formats. In 1962 Detroit, Michigan, young car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr. meets a Black girl group known as "The Dreamettes", consisting of lead singer Effie White and backup singers Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson, at an R&B amateur talent show at the Detroit Theatre. 2. He stuck with a select group of songwriters who were told to write songs in first person and present tense. The most inauthentic part of the whole portrait is the music, which owes as much to such mid-'80s pop dreck as "You Light Up My Life" as to the actual Motown sound. harder for the industries that marginalise them". Beyonc, Madonna, and Prince are just a few of the superstars who have revolutionized the Super Bowl halftime show. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $155 million at the international box office. [16] That same year, Geffen, who ran his Warner Bros.-associated Geffen Pictures film production company at the time, began talks with Broadway lyricist and producer Howard Ashman to adapt it as a star vehicle for Whitney Houston, who was to portray Deena. In Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy plays James "Thunder" Early, a character who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all Eddie Murphy. Dreamgirls . BOOKING [19] Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Terrence Howard were among the other actors also approached to play Curtis. InWomen of Motown, she says, "What I related the song to was my experience in Rio at Carnival time, and in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Gordy also packaged Gaye, at one point, as a supper club entertainer -- a common strategy for R&B performers hoping to cross over to white audiences in those days -- a scene repeated in the movie with Early. The Supremes were three girls -- Ross, Ballard and Mary Wilson -- who grew up in the projects and originally called themselves the Primettes. Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for Effie White from Dreamgirls. See the gallery Photos 536 Known for Dreamgirls 6.6 Effie White 2006 The Secret Life of Bees 7.2 Rosaleen Daise 2008 Sex and the City 5.7 Louise 2008 Respect 6.6 Aretha Franklin 2021 Nat King Cole reached the charts in 1946 with "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," which made the top ten. The production ran into problems when Houston wanted to sing both Deena and Effie's songs (particularly "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"), and the film was eventually abandoned. Crossing Color Lines. The character was portrayed in the original 1981 Broadway production of Dreamgirls by Ben Harney and in its 2006 film adaptation by Jamie Foxx, who also played Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Bats in Baby Driver. He looks like Ike Turner, borrows his stage moves from Wilson and has some Marvin Gaye hovering over his character. Like the rest of the cast, Eddie does all his own singing in the film, but even he admits that the pop albums he put out in the '80s weren't a good example of what he could do. In 1961, The Shirelles reached number one on the pop charts with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" David Geffen, the stage musical's co-financier, retained the film rights to Dreamgirls and turned down many offers to adapt the story for the screen. Meanwhile, The Dreams have become superstars and Rainbow Records, having moved to Los Angeles is now the biggest pop business in the country. They announced that they were having a talent show. Dreamgirls eventually grossed $103 million in North America, and almost $155 million worldwide. The Dreamgirls cast of the Broadway version namely Jennifer Holiday, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine were the original members of "The Dreamettes" (later "The Dreams). [36] Originally scheduled to be shot in one day, Condon was forced to ask for extra time and money to finish shooting the "And I Am Telling You" scene, as Hudson's voice would give out after four hours of shooting the musical number, and she was unable to plausibly lip-sync while hoarse. [6] The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit girl group known as "The Dreams" and their manipulative record executive. A black-owned recording company having such a hit was, at that time, revolutionary. Outside of the one bunker-buster ballad that closed the play's first act, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" -- and no song has received a more powerful performance anywhere than the one given this song in the film by its new star, Jennifer Hudson, as White -- the songs are mundane, derivative and not capable of standing on their own outside the context of the musical, or other people might have recorded them in the 25 years since director Michael Bennett made "Dreamgirls" a Broadway smash. By sticking to a highly publicized diet of water, lemons, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper (also known as the Master Cleanse), Knowles rapidly lost twenty pounds, which she gained back once production ended. 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