Jennifer Hudson as Winnie Madela in new film- Page 2

[javero]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 3:50pm

All I'm going to write is that in the trailer HE is convincing in his role.

[suestorm]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 4:25pm

Did Winnie role her eyes and flare her nostrils a lot? If so that's why JH mustve been chosen

[justincharacter]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 4:28pm

Dreamgirls...

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 4:34pm

The movie is a dud. It has been shelved for years (I mean, look at the thread dates on this!). It is riding the coattails of a new Mandela movie called Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom which will get a run at the Toronto Film Festival. I plan to see it there.

Idris Elba is Mandela and Naomie Harris is Winnie. It is backed by Harvey Weinstein and has gotten a lot of awards buzz from early screenings. Even as somebody ambivalent about biopics in general, the new Mandela movie actually does seem to consider the radical roots of Mandela and just how intense the fight against apartheid was which made me hopeful for the movie. Elba might not look a thing like Mandela but he is a charismatic, dynamic actor who should have had a vehicle like this years ago.

[javero]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 4:41pm

"Elba might not look a thing like Mandela but he is a charismatic, dynamic actor who should have had a vehicle like this years ago."

Thanks for sharing, strummergirl!

I have a number of friends from South Africa who are old enough to have given me a first-hand account of the apartheid era and aftermath. Neither they nor I had any interest in the movie starring Jennifer Hudson whom I'm fond of as a singer when she meets with the right material. I did think that Terrence Howard bore a striking resemblance to a young Nelson Mandela in the trailer though.

ETC: The doggone spell-check changed South Africa to South America.

Updated On: 8/10/13 at 04:41 PM

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 4:43pm

"The movie is a dud. It has been shelved for years (I mean, look at the thread dates on this!)."

It sure seems that way. Especially after reading this:

"Winnie was actually filmed in the spring of 2010 and premiered at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival but received a weak reception, prompting producers to postpone a theatrical release Stateside."

http://www.eonline.com/news/446963/jennifer-hudson-s-winnie-mandela-trailer-hits-the-web-watch?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 10:23pm

Here is a clip of Jennifer playing Winnie while she is in solidarity confinement.

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/jennifer-hudson-told-no-talking-in-winnie-mandela-clip-20130829

I don't expect the film to get very good reviews at all. Even though she's already won an Oscar and a Grammy I still wish her the very best in her career. I met her in January 2012 at a book signing and she was such a sweetheart.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 10:28pm

I'm glad they helpfully changed the title from Winnie to Winnie Mandela. All this time I thought she was gonna play a pooh bear!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 10:33pm

The film is currently at a very promising 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 10:41pm

That trailer on Rotten Tomatoes is something else. I swear at one point she drops the accent completely.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:59am

Shes a horrendous actress. No idea how she was cast.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 2:22am

Dreamgirls was a fluke and she won the Oscar because of her voice. I think she is a phenomenal singer, but the girl just cannot act. It's bad enough when she has a small role in a film or television show, but who on earth thought she had the chops to carry a film?!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 7:07am

~ will they cover winnie's murder and fraud charges and her unfaithfulness to mandela while he was imprisoned?

~ of course not.

~ this is a romantic comedy.

[suestorm]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 8:58am

Her Oscar made me realize that the award is meaningless

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 9:21am

Hudson's Oscar for Dreamgirls was well-deserved. The award is for a single performance. Not for overall career achievement (well, okay, they like to confuse that once in a while). And it's not a substitute for graduating from the best acting schools. It's not a diploma or a certificate for "paying your dues" either.

There have been "non-actors" who have won in the past. People with no experience at all. Some who have never gone on to act again. Some who peaked with a single performance. Hudson (so far) would qualify, but since she has risen to the occasion once before, there is no reason to believe she can't do it again. She needs a good director and the "perfect role" for her, if she's going to get there. She doesn't have the goods to back it up, otherwise.

Even someone like Elizabeth Taylor relied heavily on a director guiding her through a part. She gave some of the best AND some of the worst performances ever captured on film.

Marissa Tomei was written off after her "surprise" win, but then years later, she rebounded with a couple of award-worthy performances, proving she wasn't just a flash-in-the-pan.

Others who were "one-offs" besides Hudson:

Tatum O'Neal
Harold Russell
Haing S. Ngor

Film acting is a strange thing. You don't need technique, or training, or a resume a mile long to give a brilliant screen performance. Still, you have to be able to rise to the occasion when the elements (director, role, writing) align.

Hudson most definitely rose to the occasion. I watched Dreamgirls again recently, and she absolutely deserved that award, IMO.

Does that mean she's a "major actress" now? No. It means she "got there" once, and was the best of the bunch.

EDIT: I will also add that Hudson didn't just win the Oscar that year. It wasn't an "Academy thing." She won almost every major and minor acting award for Dreamgirls:

Academy Award
BAFTA
BET
Broadcast Film Critics
Central Ohio Film Critics
Florida Film Critics
Golden Globe
Image Award
Las Vega Film Critics
MTV Movie Award
National Board of Review
National Society of Film Critics
New York Film Critics
Palm Springs Film Critics
Phoenix Film Critics
Satellite Awards
SAG Award
ShoWest Award
Southeaster Film Critics
Teen Choice Award
Washington DC Film Critics

Updated On: 8/30/13 at 09:21 AM

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 9:34am

Yep, JHud's clearly a graduate of the Kim Basinger Acting Academy.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:24am

I thought she was incredible in Dreamgirls. She just hasn't been in anything I have seen her do since.

[suestorm]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:28am

she sucked the life out of the screen on SMASH

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:31am

She was terrible in Sex and the City, but the movie wasn't very good either.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:46pm

There's an old cliche that holds true for artists, especially.

"You're only as good as your last (film, album, song, play, painting, sculpture, work of art)."

That's how most people feel and perceive things. They will negate past triumphs and look at whatever is most recent ... which can often be failures, missteps, or something "less than triumphant."

I try not to do that as much as possible. I believe if you've climbed that mountain and reached the top once, you deserve the credit for it. If you try again and fail, so be it. Or if you walk away and never try again, so be it. At least you got there.

Harold Russell was a real-life disabled war vet who lost both his hands when William Wyler cast him "The Best Years of Our Lives." He had never acted before. He never became a professional actor.

But he remains the only performer in history to win two Academy Awards for a single performance. He was given an honorary Oscar for "bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans." That same year, he also won Best Supporting Actor.

Does that mean he "can't act?" Because he "doesn't act?" Or never did much of anything acting-wise again?

Yes, he can act. Under the right circumstances, in the right role, with the right guidance. Yes, he can act his way to an Oscar. Two Oscars. Does that make him an "actor" though? No.

Same thing with Hudson.

I'm guessing that she'll probably stop acting soon, for a while or forever. She will remain a "personality" on TV and in the media. And she will focus on her music career and concerts.

And I think if the right role comes along for her, something that's perfect for her as "Jennifer Hudson," she should do it. And anything is possible as far as "reaching that mountain" again.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:54pm

~ thank you for putting things into perspective besty.

~ hudson's performance in 'dreamgirls' was the heart and soul of that film and her oscar was richly deserved

~ i'm also glad you took the time to point out that ampas wasn't the only organization to see fit to award her for her performance, i was about to do it myself.

~ she achieved what many thought she would not be able to do: fill jennifer holliday's shoes.

~ well, not only did she fill them she sashayed in those shoes and picked up a couple of awards and accolades along the way.

~ and no one can take that away from her, regardless of their opinions.

Updated On: 8/30/13 at 12:54 PM

[suestorm]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 1:03pm

I will say i think JH is very good in those Diet Commercials, though i cant remember what Diet she is selling and according to Don Draper, that means its NOT a good job

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:49pm

She deserved to win the Oscar for 'Dreamgirls'. She was not playing herself in the film at all. I honestly think if she did not win it might have been one of the biggest robberies at an Oscars since Grace Kelly won in 'The Country Girl' over Judy Garland in 'A Star is Born'.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 11:50am

Im not trying to be mean, but did the gentleman with no hands get an Oscar for his acting or for having no hands. (see: the Billy Elliots Tonys). Sympathy does happen in the voting process.

JHud in "Dreamgirls" was lightning striking. However, her character was also a lot like Hudson. Hudson has a complete lack of richness in her speaking voice. It is flat, untrained and at times hard to listen to. Effie was JHud getting sassy. Condon also gave her line readings.

In the SATC film anytime she was on-screen the film just grinded to a halt. She reads lines like someone is feeding them to her through an ear wig.

She is without question one of the most painful actresses to watch. In concert when she talks between songs the air just leaves the room (much like Lea Salonga). That singing voice is a gift though.

I still say Beyonce was better. The dynamic and effervescent Knowles put her light under a bushel, lost a butt load of weight, killed the choreography and transformed before our eyes.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:07pm

Im not trying to be mean, but did the gentleman with no hands get an Oscar for his acting or for having no hands. (see: the Billy Elliots Tonys). Sympathy does happen in the voting process.

It's only mean if your question is rhetorical, considering you haven't seen the movie. See it, and you tell me. I thought his performance was excellent and well deserving. It's subtle, and real, and at times very moving. There is nothing sensational or showy about it.