Florence Ballard was the alcoholic member of the Supremes who finally became too much of a problem and was unceremoniously replaced in the trio at the height of their career. Cast & Crew; Dreamgirls - Full Cast & Crew. Andr 3000 of Outkast was also offered the role, but declined. 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 post-war baby boom had produced more teenagers than ever before, and the 1950s brought the explosion of a new teen culture with its own music, clothes, movies and dancing. [45] The film's Los Angeles premiere was held on December 11 at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills. "[64] A review for The Celebrity Cafe echoes that Hudson's voice "is like nothing weve heard in a long time, and her acting is a great match for that power-house sound. "Come and get these memories: gender, history and racial uplift in Bill Condon's Dreamgirls". [16], While Condon had intended to cast relatively unknown actresses as all three Dreams,[13] R&B singer Beyonc Knowles lobbied for the part of Deena Jones,[22] and was cast after a successful screen test. [50] As of 2017[update], total domestic video sales to date are at $95.1 million. head songwriter. But there are things -- much more important than specific details of time or place -- that the film gets very right, such as record label boss Taylor's cold indifference to the act he now realizes is washed up or Early's heroin overdose death. [84] The Dreamgirls soundtrack was also nominated for the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. "[65], Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie onstage, expressed her disappointment at not being involved in the film project in several TV, radio, and print interviews. He appoints the slimmer, more conventionally attractive Deena as the new lead singer, renaming them "The Dreams". "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was the Dreamgirls soundtrack's second single. In the 1950s, Chuck Berry had songs at the top of the R&B and pop charts, as did Little Richard. [42][52] This version, based on edits done for preview screenings before the film's release, runs ten minutes longer than the theatrical version and features longer musical numbers (including songs and verses cut during previews) and additional scenes. And gangs of boy dancers are strictly a Broadway convention; the R&B world was far too cash poor to afford such extraneous luxuries. This is a hit with the audience until Jimmy goes too far and drops his pants. [22] The filmmakers insisted on casting a relative unknown in the role, paralleling the casting of then-21-year-old Jennifer Holliday in that role for the original Broadway production. He eventually drops Effie, hiring his secretary Michelle Morris to replace her beginning with their 1966 New Year's Eve debut in Las Vegas as "Deena Jones & the Dreams." [7] The film marks the acting debut of Hudson, a former American Idol contestant. [41], Four new songs were added for the film: "Love You I Do", "Patience", "Perfect World," and "Listen. Coker, Cheo Hodari (2007). 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. The real story of the 1960s girl groups, however, changed American music forever. Staged with a mostly African-American cast and originally starring Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Ben Harney, Cleavant Derricks, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Obba Babatund, the musical opened on December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. Beyonc, Madonna, and Prince are just a few of the superstars who have revolutionized the Super Bowl halftime show. And it wasn't only menRuth Brown's "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" was number one on the R&B charts in 1953, and number 23 on the pop charts. In Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy plays James "Thunder" Early, a character who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all Eddie Murphy. "That really had never happened before and it really hasn't happened since," says Warwick. Jamie Foxx portrayed Curtis Taylor Jr., the ruthless record executive at Rainbow Records and love interest of two women in his star group, the Dreams. [61] Ed Gonzales of Slant magazine found the entire picture too glossy, and declared that "the film doesn't care to articulate the emotions that haunt its characters". Curtis pitches a film about Cleopatra to star Deena, whom he has also married. [92], The Dreamgirls novelization was written by African-American novelist Denene Millner, and adapts the film's official script in chapter form, along with fourteen pages of photographs from the film. He stuck with a select group of songwriters who were told to write songs in first person and present tense. The Effie White character from the Broadway play (and film) "Dreamgirls" is loosely based on Ballard. He gathered a stellar group of area jazz musicians (all men), known collectively as The Funk Brothers. [49] Both DVD versions featured alternative and extended versions of the musical numbers from the film as extras, including the "Effie, Sing My Song" scene deleted during previews. . As with many artists who lived in the black community at that time, it was an avenue that allowed you to travel to other cities and states and gave you that 'out.'" And we were fourth. Because of events like this, says Warwick, the figure of the non-white teenage girl was being politicized in America. Jennifer Kate Hudson was born on September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois to Darnell Donerson (ne Hudson) & Samuel Simpson. To restart her music career, she hires Marty as her manager and after a pep talk by him begins performing at a local club. ", 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". 76 Metascore; 2006; 2 hr 9 mins Drama, Music PG13 Watchlist. Character Lorrell Robinson Show Dreamgirls Gender Female Age Range Young Adult, Adult Role Size Lead Dancing Mover Voice Soprano High Note G5 Low Note D#4/Eb4 Vocal Technique Belting, Pop Time & Place Various cities throughout the U.S., 1960s-1970s Tags "Dreamgirls" draws its story from the relationship between the Supremes and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr., although the end result is pure fiction, cinema and musical theater. ", It wasn't uncommon for a group to get its big break at a high school talent show or, like The Dreamettes in the movie Dreamgirls, at a local talent contest. [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. Based on the rise of the 1960s Motown girl-group trio The Supremes and Motown impresario Berry Gordy Jr., the 1982 Tony-winning hit musical Dreamgirls seemed to be a shoo-in for a movie version. [4], Mark and Condon began pre-production with the intentions of casting Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy, both actors with record industry experience, as Curtis Taylor, Jr. and James "Thunder" Early, respectively. So the emblem of the teenage girl is being imbued with a lot of political significance. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, it won three awards, including for the Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.[9]. [19][22], Dreamgirls musical supervisors Randy Spendlove and Matt Sullivan hired R&B production team The Underdogs Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas to restructure and rearrange the Henry Krieger/Tom Eyen Dreamgirls score so that it better reflected its proper time period, yet also reflected then-modern R&B/pop sensibilities. Cookie Settings, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. Disillusioned by Jimmy's death and Curtis' cold reaction to the news, C.C. ", "Musically, the girl group soundand popular music at the time in generalwas drawing on a lot different sources," says Warwick. "For them to be on Ed Sullivanalmost every week it seemed likethat was a tremendous, incredible influence," Whitall remembers. The Broadway show had been had been partly financed by music mogul turned film producer David Geffen, who retained rights to produce the movie. ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Most of us are familiar with "Dreamgirls" through the 2006 film that garnered Jennifer Hudson an Oscar. Original Broadway Cast of 'Dreamgirls' Feels Left Out of Movie History. [22] A total of 783 singing actresses auditioned for the role of Effie White, among them American Idol alumnae Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson, former Disney star Raven-Symon, and Broadway stars Capathia Jenkins and Patina Miller. This seemingly passive attitude and general lack of depth in song subject matter makes it easy to dismiss girl groups music as trivial and, in contemporary terms, less than radical. [8] With a production budget of $80 million, Dreamgirls is one of the most expensive films to feature a predominant African-American starring cast in American film history. Schaffner of The Marvelettes talks about the song's political significance in Marc Taylor's book The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group. [107] Gordy was highly suspected, though never proven, to have used Mafia-backed loans to finance Motown during its later years.[108]. [63], Many reviews, regardless of their overall opinion of the film, cited Hudson's and Murphy's performances as standouts, with Travers proclaiming Murphy's performance of "Jimmy's Rap" as "his finest screen moment. The character of Deena Jones leaves the Dreams in 1972 to pursue a career as an actress. This was not what Martha Reeves thought of when she sang the song. Eddie Murphy brilliantly digests the R&B stars of the early '60s in his portrayal of James "Thunder" Early, a key figure in the fictional career of the Dreams, the girl group of the movie. Terms of Use Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. 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. Certainly whites (particularly young people) had been listening to black music before girl groups came on the scene, and black artists had made the pop charts before. It was a time for people to forget who they are and just get with each other to be happy and loving and dance and rejoice. Teenage life became synonymous with pop culture, and with many of these teenagers having money to spend, the record market flourished. The Dreams' hometownthe setting for much of the actionwas moved from Chicago to Detroit, the real-life hometown of The Supremes and Motown Records. [55] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Foxx took on the role, which was based. [13], While much of the stage musical's story remains intact, a number of significant changes were made. [19] When offered the part of Curtis, Foxx initially declined because DreamWorks could not meet his salary demands. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. 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. Dreamgirls is a fictional work, adapted from a 1981 successful Broadway musical inspired by the real-life story and success of The Supremes. ", In the entertainment world, The Supremesarguably the most successful girl group of all timebegan playing venues that had been hard for black musicians to book. Certainly whites (particularly young people) had been listening to black music before girl groups came on the. In 1961, The Shirelles reached number one on the pop charts with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" That same year, Motown got its first pop hit with The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, vol. We sang one of The Chantels' numbersI'm thinking it was 'Maybe.' Dreamgirls - Musical 2 Lorrell Robinson Dreamgirls - Musical 1 Curtis Taylor, Jr. Dreamgirls - Musical 0 View All Characters in Dreamgirls Auditons for AMDA (Virtual) New York, NY Ages 12-17: NY Pops Birthday Gala Concert New York, NY Miss Saigon New York, NY Half-Price Tickets Dec 12 - Apr 2 Drunk Shakespeare New York, NY $55 - $89 Our Price Teenagers listening to popular music during this time heard songs with voices that sounded like their own. Knowles, Hudson, Rose, and Robinson performed a medley of the three Dreamgirls songs nominated for Best Original Song, although all three songs lost the award to "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth.[79]. Then everyone learns of Jimmy's unexpected death from a heroin overdose, which greatly upsets Lorrell. 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. [citation needed]. In 1960, he founded Motown Records, which went on to become the most successful black-owned company in the country. 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. 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 the movie, the Dreams' album covers look like specific old Supremes albums. Dreamgirls eventually grossed $103 million in North America, and almost $155 million worldwide. And all that very famous footage of Elizabeth Eckfordgoing to school that first day. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $155 million at the international box office. 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 Girl groups subject matter articulated a common teenage experience, regardless of race, even as the culture around them was slow to catch up. "We were all surprised when 'Postman' hit so big," she says. [7], After preview screenings during the summer of 2006, several minutes worth of musical footage were deleted from the film due to negative audience reactions to the amount of music. 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. Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for Effie White from Dreamgirls. [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. DreamWorks hoped to encourage amateur productions of Dreamgirls, and familiarize a wider audience with the play. [93][94] A later scene features Curtis and the Dreams recording in the studio, while a riot rages outside. . Schumacher planned to have Lauryn Hill[18] portray Deena and Kelly Price play Effie. In the 1980s and 1990s, several attempts were made to produce a film adaptation of Dreamgirls, a Broadway musical loosely based upon the story of The Supremes and Motown Records, which won six Tony Awards in 1982. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. They were able to transition into becoming adults with greater ease.". It also employed call-and-response vocals and heavy use of tambourine. Ballard, the group's original lead vocalist, had a rough, grainy and more conventional rhythm and blues voice, as opposed to the light, lithesome sound of Ross' vocals. [82] Dreamgirls also received a record eleven Black Reel Award nominations, and won six of the awards, among them Best Film. We had a lot of young men that were leaving home for the first time going into the military, and, of course, some never returned. Dreamgirls was the first DreamWorks film to be issued in a high definition home entertainment format. And, of course, white artists also re-recorded songs done by black artists. Jared Gilman ( Paterson) and Kara Hayward ( Manchester by the Sea) play Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop in Wes Anderson 's ( The Grand Budapest Hotel) 2012 coming-of-age film Moonrise Kingdom. The two-disc version also included a feature-length production documentary, production featurettes, screen tests, animatics, and other previsualization materials and artwork. [19] After sending Geffen the first draft of his screenplay in January 2005, Condon's adaptation of Dreamgirls was greenlit. Releases in other countries began on various dates between January and early March. dreamgirls.movie. ", In Motown, Berry Gordy had a specific formula for making a hit song. . And the same non-threatening, pure quality that was letting black girl groups cross over into white culture was giving young women force in the civil rights movement. [81] The film was also nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Best Picture and the Directors Guild of America for Bill Condon's directing. [17], When Geffen co-founded DreamWorks in 1994 and dissolved Geffen Pictures, the rights to Dreamgirls remained with Warner Bros. Warner planned to go ahead with the film with director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Tina Andrews[7] in the late 1990s, following the success of Touchstone Pictures's Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do with It. Official Sites Towards the end, Curtis notices Magic in the front row, realizing she is his daughter. [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. But Krieger has said the songs "are nowhere close to the Motown sound." Premiere of Dreamgirls, Weekend Box Office Results, Dec. 15 17, 2006, Press Release: Paramount Home Entertainment Presents the Critically-Acclaimed Smash Hit and Winner of Two Academy Awards: DREAMGIRLS Two-Disc Showstopper Edition, "DREAMGIRLS Director's Cut Extended Edition Coming to Blu-ray Combo Gift Set This October", "Bill Condon reveals what's exciting about Dreamgirls: Director's Extended Edition", http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504630.2012.667603, Exclusive: Jennifer Holliday Says She Created Role in, "'Dreamgirls' snubbed for Oscars best film nomination". 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