Dreamgirls Movie Rant

So right now, I am finally unleashing my anger about this. On all the previews and ads we have seen the big names that flash across the screen are BEYONCE, EDDIE MURPHY, and JAMIE FOXX. Okay, good, but where is Jennifer Hudson's name? Effie Melody White is the most important character in Dreamgirls, and someone with a lot of power needs to play that part. Why is Jennifer Hudson's name not in bright shiny letters? Because she is not as big of a star and people care more about the names they know. Same thing with Little Women National Tour. I love Maureen McGovern, she is great, but Jo March carries the show on her back, but there was no marquee with big letters stating tour Jo's name, which I cannot even remember, despite her great singing/acting ability, because she was not advertised. It just pisses me off that even people with smaller parts will get more attention, despite their roll, etc. I know that names sell, but this Dreamgirls thing is just getting to me.

Before I open this up to discussion, yes, some might say that Deena's character is equal to Effie's, and in some ways this might be true, nonetheless, it is much easier to play, and basically I want to give Jennifer Hudson some credit. This is my commercial for Ms. Hudson! Okay. I'm done.

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While I know what you are saying, what difference does it really make? You know Jennifer is in the movie, as does most of this board. If someone in Anytown, USA is a Jennifer fan, they will know that Jennifer is in the film. By putting names like Beyonce, Eddie Murphy and Jaime Foxx in the commercials, they are appealing to the random Joe Schmoe, who actually knows who these people are.

The newest TV spot credits all the principals.

the movie will be excellent. and the idea of the preview not mentioning anika's or Jenifer's name is simply life imitating art. it is reasonable for the actress playing Effie not to get a nod, because while her part is important, it is Effie who falls into the backround, while Deena revieves all the praise and attention.

it's all perfect.

and Jenifer and Anika will get thier due. just wait.

oh, and IMO, Deena is the star of the show, having a bigger part and more songs to sing, BUT Effie is the heart of the show and she is the one who gets all the memorable powerhouse songs.

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It's called getting butts in seats. If they promote Jennifer Hudson - who's gonna see it? The public are going to think "ewwww they made an American Idol movie????" (especially since the teaser trailer is very American Idol-esque).

Knowles. Foxx. Murphy. Glover. Hudson.

That's the order of promotion. Mega blockbuster music sensation. Oscar winner. Fan favorite. Respected actor. American Idol loser.

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Updated On: 6/28/06 at 07:34 PM

I'm not under the impression that it's new. I was very aware of the existence of this marketing style. It just pisses me off when people who deserve more acclaim don't neccesarily get it. Sorry.

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Sorry, Dreamgirls is just the most recent movie I've seen with this practice. I understand its use in the modern world, but it does make me, along with many others, upset.

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All_for_laura, I work in Hollywood and come across this all the time. I understand your passion to see Ms. Hudson get the billing she deserves but there are certain realities that you have to take into consideration.

Studios pay their star performers in three ways: a salary, a "piece of the action" and billing. Salary is negotable as is the piece of the action. An unknown (to Hollywood) actor can't command very much of the back end, so their agents try to get a big up front salary, hopefully per week and hope that the film runs over its allotted timeframe (when those big overtime overages can be negotiated). The bigger stars get salary and a piece of the action. The biggest stars nowadays often forgo any salary and take more points in the backend. If the film is a hit, like "Batman" then the actor with gross points above 1% becomes fabulously wealthy ( Jack Nicholson made 68,000,000 from his 10% gross points). It should be noted that pretty well everyone who has more than five lines in a big budget film gets very well paid. Every major actor on M. Night Shamalan's last film, except newcomer Dallas Bryce Howard, was paid a salary of over 1,000,000 each.

Now we get to the final way the studio attracts stars to films: credit.

Hollywood never EVER cares about the roles the big names are playing, or giving key characters good billing. It's all about the power the actor and his agents wield.

To have your name "above the titles" is a recognition that you have arrived in Hollywood. Eddie Murphy and Jamie Fox deserve and expect "above the title" and they got it. Beyonce Knowles is, arguably, one of the biggest singing stars in the world, so her agents insisted (and the studio wanted) to give her the recognition.

And when trailers are made, the "above the titles" go before the title. Did you notice that all three names were printed in exactly the same size and in exactly the same font and that the writer's names and the producers and directors were the same size as well? All very carefully negotiated.

Occasionally, a big star wants to share his credit with his fellow actors (George Clooney is famous for this) and will insist that all credits be "favored nations" which means no individual credits and nobody bigger than any other.

Actually, watching the credits becomes a game out here. We love to see who negotiated what and who has the utter gall to insist on some ridiculous credit (as in "A film by [fill in the name of some obscure director].")

So anyway, a simple examination of the Dreamgirls credits shows the three "money" stars up front, where they deserve to be, and everyone else trailing behind.

If this is a huge hit, Jennifer Hudson's name will get the credit she deserves on her next film.

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They are advertising trailers. Their main purpose is to stir up interest in the film. By featuring the most well-known stars of the movie, more people will pay attention.

Though, it would be nice if they list all the other stars and add an "and introducing _________" at the end.

Though, when DREAMGIRLS first premiered on Broadway, everyone built it up as the new Michael Bennett musical. After opening night, however, all the talk was about Holliday. It is possible the same could occur with the movie with people going to see Knowles, Foxx, and Murphy, but leaving talking about Hudson.

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Updated On: 6/28/06 at 10:03 PM

Jennifer Holliday was so fascinating to watch. She was very large (I don't mean fat as much as bulky) and to see her try to do the dance steps (ie Effie try to keep up with the other two rail-thin girls) was kinda funny - and hey, I'm no pencil myself). But when she sang, that was the amazing part. The "And I am telling you" number was like watching a house burn down. A five, no six, alarm fire. Her rage consumed her, just ate her up and spat her out, all the while that her pain and guilt was burning as well. It was like watching someone kill themselves, right before your eyes. The final lines weren't said, they exploded from somewhere deep inside and I guarantee everyone in the audience had the same electric sensation I had on the back of their neck and the pit of their stomach.

Watch the youtube.com footage of her performance of the song at the Tonys and you'll get maybe 20% of the experience of seeing and hearing that roar and wail live.

And BTW, "I am changing" has to be the greatest "comedown from the mountain" songs I have ever heard. After watching Effie tear herself apart, the almost heavenly calmness of that melody at the end is just such great, great composing. I really believe Henry Krieger is an overlooked musical genius.

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Updated On: 6/28/06 at 10:21 PM