dreamgirls the big screen adaption — Page 5

Truth - this was a while back with the Beyonce & Matt saying she wouldnt play Deena.

I know Gab cant sing but she said it.

bwaybum: you say black faces on the big screen draws crowds?
"Ray" didnt do as well as the studios expected They are going to use the name "Dreamgirls" to draw people in and as for what you said about black broadway stars doing well on bway. Please tell me what shows are on bway today that star black leads????

WHY do you all want to see Beyonce play Deena??
Cause she IS the roll????
This is saying she is a clone of Diana and its what people would expect of her...

Why would anyone want to play a role that could damn well be urself?

Silent, I suggested Fantasia for Lorell. That character doesn't need to be a big star becuast Lorell isn't the star of The Dreams, so your argument against Fantasia makes no sense. There is no way in H that Deborah would play Deena unless 10 other people turned it down first. I know she's on people's mind because she closed Aida. I'm a fan of hers, but she is not on most folks radar. Also, Silent, what made you want to bring Ruben into the discussion? And why are you grouping Ruben and Fantasia together? Don't make me have to read you on this board. And just so you know, Ruben's CD is one of the top selling Gospel CD's in quite a lont time.

Either way...here's a short list of Tasia's accomplishments.


Fantasia is the first artist in the history of the Hot 100 Single Sales to debut at No. 1 with her first chart entry.

AUG 2004 - Fantasia became the 1st spokesmodel for American Rag Cie Clothing

SEP 2004 - "I Believe" with 11 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart is longest consecutive running No. 1 hit by artists from the "American Idol" franchise.

NOV 2004 - M.A.C'S Cosmetics Fantasia featured Lip Gloss "Fantaboulous" hits the stores

DEC 2004 - 2 Billboard Awards For "I Believe"

That's a lot considering around this time last year she was an unknown! Her CD has already gone Gold and her CD dropped during a very competitive quarter (Eminem, Destiny's CHild, U2) plus all the other idols released CDz (Kelly, Ruben, Clay, Diana). On top of all this, she has critical praise. Her CD was featured on many critics best of 2004 or got honorble mentions. What did Kelly get? Sales are not everything. You need respect to last in the music industry.

Effie: Jennifer Hudson or Frenchie Davis (although I am way over her)
Lorelle: Ramona Keller (not well known but Lorelle doesn't have to be)

As for any of the other characters, I don't care who plays them as long as they are talented.

Updated On: 1/13/05 at 02:33 PM

Thank you Javero.

If Deborah won't be cast in this movie, what the hell makes you think Fantasia has a better shot?

I think Deb would be fine as either Deena or Lorell. On the other hand, I can't see Fantasia as any one of the Dreams. Period.

Updated On: 1/13/05 at 03:09 PM

Hey Silent,
IMO the only edge that Fantasia has over anyone that can act (or SING) is the novelty of the AI win. However, that success is fleeting b/c her debut CD is losing traction on the charts and is about be in FREE FALL, lol. I like Fantasia (a little bit), but am still not over those 3 fools on the panel for dumping Jennifer Hudson & Kimberly Locke. Both ladies should seriously consider enrolling in an acting course, getting a casting agent, and trying to nab a "non-singing" role before jumping into musicals to nip all that "but can they act blues" in the bud. I also didn't mean to slame Trencye. She's got lots of spunk and DIVAtude before the acclaim, lol. Funny noone's nominated her for the role of Lorrell. Her voice is somewhat SHRILL, IMO. She probably could amp it up a bit for the part.

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Updated On: 1/13/05 at 03:21 PM

Question: All things considered (including politics), do any of you believe Jennifer Holliday capable of winning American Idol today, were it possible for her to show up with the voice she had when she was at the height of her powers?

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Silent, I only considered Fantasia for Lorell. Not the other Dreams. To me, The Dreams should be so distinctive that an actress playing them wouldn't be so interchangable as to say that Deborah could play either Deena or Lorell. Sheryl couldn't play Lorell and Loretta couldn't play Deena. That's my point. Deborah can sing her face off but she desn't fit any of these roles.

YOU ask what Fantasia has going for her? In regard to this role:

She's young (Deb is 30 something, which might not be bad. It all depends on if they try to skew the movie younger.

Her VOICE is distinctive and fits Lorell perfectly (shrill, high).

She has sass, spunk and she's funny, which is what Lorell needs to be.

Fantasia has great performance skills. I think she would be able to do a better job with "Ain't no Party" than Deb.


Still, I feel that she would have to tone up and get some braces in preparation for the part.


As for Kelly, Kelly got a lot of benifits the other two idols didn't get. She got to release her CD first with no other Idol competing with her. She's the first, so she's going to be the most well known


Javaro, WTF are you talking about when you say they are trying to turn Fantasia into a sex symbol? Have u seen her new video? It's a lot tamer than her competition. What have you seen that would make her look like a sex symbol?

OK Marquise, then I gather from your desription of her as a "serious contender" you wouldn't consider her a shoe-in which is cool. However, what I hope some of the Jennifer Hudson naysayers will reveal is why the aversion to her "style of singing" which was most definitely influenced by that of Jennifer Holliday. Applying the same logic of countless others on here, Jennifer Holliday would not even be qualified to take on the role of Effie. Let me elaborate. Miss Holliday was not hardly a seasoned actress when initially cast in DREAMGIRLS. Her voice was not doubt considered quite "round" at the time by the hoity toities which is a polite way of saying...Lastly, several posters (who know what they are talking about) have pointed out that Jennifer Holliday required a great deal of "hand holding" in the acting dept. before the production was brought on stream. Its nice to be a nostalgia buff, but we need brace ourselves for the fact that neither Dame Judy Dench or Jennifer Holliday will be the one bringing Effie to life on that doggone screen.

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Updated On: 1/13/05 at 04:05 PM

I say both in regard to Kelly. She's a great singer, IMO and she had the avantage of "first strike". Wow, we've covered a lot of ground in this thread.

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Updated On: 1/13/05 at 04:15 PM

How did this become an American Idol thread? Oy.

yes javero, you got my point exactly. she would most def have been a serious contender. would she have won? who knows?
and yes, jennifer holliday was very much a raw talent when she was cast as "effie" in one of the early "dreamgirls" workshops and michael bennett didn't really have any real faith in her at the time.
the original workshop actually had nell carter as "effie", when carter left for LA and the sit-com "Gimme A Break" she was replaced briefly by Cheryl Barnes, who can be seen in the motion picture version of "Hair" (and it's soundtrack) singing the sh!t out of "Easy To Be Hard". When the workshop was picked back up after a brief hiatus Barnes no longer proved available so Holliday was chosen. In the middle of all this the show was undergoing some major changes and what initially was a "Valley of the Dolls" type scenario with three young black girls trying to make it in show business evolved into the story of a black singing trio a la The Supremes. The "Effie" character was diminished somewhat and the spotlight given more to the "Deena" character. This didn't sit well with Holliday and she abruptly left and was replaced by Jenifer Lewis.
Bennett wanted Cheryl Barnes back in the role, but the authors of the piece (Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger) had such faith in Holliday (despite her limited acting ability) that they succeeded in convincing Bennett that Holliday was the one for the part.
They eventually won Holliday back by telling her that they would beef the character of "Effie" up and give her a happy ending and not the death sentence they initially had given the character.
She returned and the rest is Broadway History.
For a fascinating look into the making of "Dreamgirls" you should most definitely read "A Chorus Line and the musicals of Michael Bennett" by Ken Mandelbaum.
It's out of print but I'm sure a library somewhere has a copy.

Updated On: 1/13/05 at 05:22 PM

So...anyone who knows this musical better than I do want to talk about something other than casting? What, for example, might be cut? How would you like to see it presented?