Changes made to Dreamgirls

[silent]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:49pm

"The showstopper
'Dreamgirls,' due 2006

Tony wins: Six.

Back story: The 1981 backstage saga about the rise of a Supremes-like girl group in the '60s and '70s pits ambitious diva Deena against rejected Effie (a career-making part for Jennifer Holliday). Memorable songs: And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, One Night Only.

Director/writer: Bill Condon (Kinsey, the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Chicago) directs his first musical. As proven by the success of last year's Ray, Condon believes the all-black musical will easily resonate with all audiences. "African-American music is the center of our culture," he says. "It isn't just part of our culture. It is the culture." There's also an American Idol element: "The first 15 minutes is a talent show with three judges."

Movie moves: Expect to hear six new songs in the film, which should start filming in January in Los Angeles, and Condon has significantly rewritten the book, because the stage show was mainly sung throughout. "Usually backstage musicals have bad second acts, when all the dreams disappear," he says. But Dreamgirls ends with one character's rise and another's fall.

Casting: Jamie Foxx, whose dead-on portrait of Ray Charles in Ray won him a best-actor Oscar, will play the Svengali-like manager Curtis Taylor Jr. Beyoncé Knowles will tackle Deena. Eddie Murphy is James Thunder Early, the famous artist who gives the girls their first break.

Chances: Condon has shown he can cleverly transfer a musical's story to the screen, and the star casting so far boasts both vocal talent and youth appeal. "

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:50pm

I'm going to bite my tongue until after I see the final film

[dreamboy2004]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:53pm

Hearing that their planning on adding six songs makes me think they'll be removing six.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:55pm

Eddie Murphy!?



Where have I been?

[alphieboy]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:56pm

So wait, I have been so confused about this...Have all three "Dreamgirls" been cast yet?

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:56pm

Wow..six songs?? Thats a lot! I wonder why they are changing it. That sucks.

[silent]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 1:59pm

Effie has not been cast yet. Beyonce is playing Deena and Fantasia is playing Lorell.

[dreamboy2004]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 2:07pm

Where did you get all of this informantion? Where has been confirmed that Fantasia has been casted?

[silent]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 2:11pm

Just trust me. You'll be seeing two overrated ladies in this film. At this point, I'm interested in seeing who they cast as Effie.
Updated On: 7/23/05 at 02:11 PM

[alphieboy]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 2:15pm

Who is in talks for Effie? I am so confused...? I thought I believe her name is Capitha Jenkins (sp?) was playing Effie?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 2:18pm

They're still auditioning people for Effie. And Jenkins is too old for the role.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 3:52pm

We don't know what songs are being replaced... for all we know, they could be talking about some of the incidental musical numbers like "Goin' Downtown," "Driving Down the Strip," "One More Picture Please," or "Party, Party"...

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:12pm

If anyone is asking why they are doing this, it should be obvious, they want to give Beyonce more numbers.


Excuse me while i wretch.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:15pm

Excuse me, but considering that Deena is supposed to be the pretty, not especially talented one, how is Beyonce NOT appropriate for the role?

[nodaybut2day2007]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:16pm

Is Beyonce's character even the main character. I sense a 'Bewitched' sort of thing going on here.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:19pm

As originally written, there's a lot of focus on Effie in Act One, and probably more material for Deena in Act Two. Effie has always seemed like the heart and soul of Dreamgirls, because "And I Am Telling You" so thoroughly dominates the evening, but truth be told, the roles are probably of equal stature.

Updated On: 7/23/05 at 04:19 PM

[theatreguy]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:29pm

nd if we're going by what the Tonys originally thought, Sheryl Lee Ralph was nominated for Best Leading Actress along with Jennifer Holliday.

[alphieboy]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:35pm

Exactlly. So they are pretty much equal.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:38pm

It's not confirmed Fantasia is in the film.

[zoran912]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 5:05pm

Thank goodness! I think Beyonce is a great choice.

[dreamboy2004]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 6:26pm

I read the article for myself but still haven't seen any mention of Fantasia being casted.

[alphieboy]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 7:22pm

I also thought that Beyonce is a very good choice! But many pepole seem to disagree...?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 7:26pm

I saw GOLDMEMBER for the second time last night on TV. Hadn't seen it in years. Was pleasantly surprised by Beyonce's performance. It was very good.

[dreamboy2004]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:07am

I was just thinking who the perfect person to play Effie would be Monique from The Parkers. She trully had the confindence bordline cockiness that Effie posses but stil has a vulnerbility. Only if she was maybe about fifteen years younger and could sing,because I really think she could act the part. I saww Goldmember too and was impressed with Beyonce's acting also.

[Quasi]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 7:41am

I just hope that they do not cut to much songs and will change the whole piece too much. If they make it like Cabaret where all numbers where performed onstage, there will be a lot which would not work in my opinion. "Condon has significantly rewritten the book, because the stage show was mainly sung throughout." It seems that there will be only a part of the whole score in the movie, if Condon has rewritten the book because it was originally sung throughout. Nevertheless I hope it will be great.