[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. Detroit, the early 1960s. Free shipping for many products! 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. [27], Anika Noni Rose, a Broadway veteran and a Tony Award winner, won the part of Lorrell Robinson after an extensive auditioning process. For the 2007 Golden Globe Awards, Dreamgirls was nominated in five categories: Best Picture Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (Beyonc Knowles), Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), and Best Original Song ("Listen"). [20] Condon did not start work on the Dreamgirls script until after making the Alfred Kinsey biographical film Kinsey (2004). They force Curtis to nationally distribute Effie's record to avoid being reported to the FBI. He gathered a stellar group of area jazz musicians (all men), known collectively as The Funk Brothers. Disillusioned by Jimmy's death and Curtis' cold reaction to the news, C.C. 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." The Dreams' hometownthe setting for much of the actionwas moved from Chicago to Detroit, the real-life hometown of The Supremes and Motown Records. Geffen, taking the role of co-producer, brought Paramount Pictures in to co-finance and release Dreamgirls. As such, Hudson became one of the few actresses ever to win an Oscar for a film debut performance. But this song inevitably gained meaning from the times in which it was heard. 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. [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. They're pictured during a routine they'll do on an upcoming Red Skelton television show. | . 2. Movie. Another Dreams LP seen in the film, Meet the Dreams, is represented by an album cover derived from the designs for the Supremes LPs Meet The Supremes, More Hits by The Supremes and The Supremes A' Go-Go. "[34], After Hudson was cast in November 2005, the Dreamgirls cast began extensive rehearsals with Condon and choreographers Fatima Robinson and Aakomon "AJ" Jones, veterans of the music video industry. 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. [73] The film's failure to gain a Best Picture or Best Director nod was widely viewed by the entertainment press as a "snub" by the Academy. [51], A "Director's Extended Edition" of Dreamgirls was released on Blu-ray and Digital HD on October 10, 2017 by Paramount Home Media Distribution. "Dreamgirls" is the fictionalized story of the creation of The Supremes and the rise of Berry Gordy and Motown. [5], DreamWorks Home Entertainment released Dreamgirls to home video on May 1, 2007[49] in DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray formats. ", The girls went to Detroit for an audition, and eventually, they kick-started the Motown hit machine that would later call itself "The Sound of Young America." Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. And gangs of boy dancers are strictly a Broadway convention; the R&B world was far too cash poor to afford such extraneous luxuries. In Dreamgirls, Murphy plays the role of Jimmy "Thunder" Early, an R&B star whose character falls on hard times when his former backup singers, the Dreamettes, find success. | "[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. 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. "Dreamgirls' Best Picture snub and Oscar night thud", 'Dreamgirls' banked on Best Picture, and Lost, "Nominees & Winners for the 79th Academy Awards", "The 38th NAACP Image Awards Takes Place With Superstar Entertainer LL Cool J As Host", National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, "Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film and Television Performances in 13 Categories at the 13th Annual SAG Awards", "Official press release for International Press Academy Satellite Awards Nominations", "Beyonc, Jennifer Hudson Top BET Awards", "Zack Snyder's Justice League Tops 'Oscars Cheer Moment' List", "The 79th Academy Awards (2007) Nominees and Winners", "Dreamgirls (2006) Nominees and Winners", "The 12th Critics' Choice Awards Winners and Nominees", "One stage of film's marketing is on stage", Gordy Album Discography, Part 1 (19621981), "Diana Ross Talks About 'Dreamgirls,' Secrets to Staying Power", "Mary Wilson on the New Film, 'Dreamgirls', "Does 'Dreamgirls' Offer Lowdown on Motown? Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for Effie White from Dreamgirls. Similarities to Aretha Franklin, however, are also hardly coincidental. His role in the . [19] After sending Geffen the first draft of his screenplay in January 2005, Condon's adaptation of Dreamgirls was greenlit. Later that night, Hudson won the BET Award for Best Actress. Privacy Statement [102] He repeated these concerns in a later interview with Access Hollywood, adding that he felt DreamWorks and Paramount owed Gordy an apology. 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 In Motown, founder Berry Gordy aimed to make music with widespread pop charts appeal. During a televised special of Rainbow's tenth anniversary, Jimmy strays off from his soulful act to do an impromptu rap. Both men worked in the automotive industry before focusing on music, and integrated aspects of the automotive business into the music making process. [57][58] David Rooney of Variety reported that the film featured "tremendously exciting musical sequences" and that "after The Phantom of the Opera, Rent and The Producers botched the transfer from stage to screen, Dreamgirls gets it right. And all that very famous footage of Elizabeth Eckfordgoing to school that first day. [42] Among this footage was one whole musical number, C.C. Cookie Policy Teen Culture. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $155 million at the international box office. Gordy also packaged Gaye, at one point, as a supper club entertainer -- a common strategy for R&B performers hoping to cross over to white audiences in those days -- a scene repeated in the movie with Early. [68] Three months later, twenty minutes of the film specifically, the musical sequences "Fake Your Way to the Top", "Family", "When I First Saw You", and "Dreamgirls" were screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, with most of the cast and crew in attendance. 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. [60] Roeper still enjoyed the film, noting that Jennifer Hudson's rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" as the "show-stopping moment of any film of 2006" and very much enjoyed Murphy's performance as well, remarking that "people are going to love this film. ", 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. [citation needed] A scrapbook, entitled Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical, was released on March 27, 2007. David Geffen, the stage musical's co-financier, retained the film rights to Dreamgirls and turned down many offers to adapt the story for the screen. [22], Principal photography began January 6, 2006 with the filming of dance footage for the first half of "Steppin' to the Bad Side," footage later deleted from the film. Who was the main character in Dreamgirls based on? 2023 Smithsonian Magazine He stuck with a select group of songwriters who were told to write songs in first person and present tense. Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? But they also sang about love and crushes, mostly from the position of a patiently waiting, yearning girl. ", In Motown, Berry Gordy had a specific formula for making a hit song. [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. "It's sort of the female corollary to doo-wop at the beginning," says Jacqueline Warwick, author of the new book Girl Groups, Girl Culture: Popular Music and Identityin the 1960's and professor of music at Dalhousie University. 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. When my brother went into the military, I know how anxious I or my mother or sister would be looking for a letter or something like that from him. [86][87], To give the story more exposure for the upcoming film release, DreamWorks and the licenser of the original play, The Tams-Witmark Music Library, announced that they would pay the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of Dreamgirls for the calendar year of 2006. He appoints the slimmer, more conventionally attractive Deena as the new lead singer, renaming them "The Dreams". Coker, Cheo Hodari (2007). Offstage, Effie falls in love with Curtis while the married Jimmy does likewise with Lorrell. harder for the industries that marginalise them". In the movie, the Dreams' album covers look like specific old Supremes albums. Yet The Supremes aren't necessarily representative of the rest of girl group culture. "I was just overcome every week by this, these incredible visions, they were just such beautiful girls in these beautiful gowns, singing the music that I was listening to all week on the radio. [7] "Perfect World," also featuring lyrics by Garrett, is performed during the Rainbow 10th anniversary special sequence by Jackson 5 doppelgngers The Campbell Connection. URL: Nader, Juli (Nov. 21, 2006). She is an Academy Award-winning actress, Grammy Award-winning recording artist and best-selling author. [104] Gordy issued a statement shortly afterwards expressing his acceptance of the apology. "[30][31][32], Hudson was required to gain twenty pounds for the role,[33] which marked her debut film performance. Congratulations to Santos, the entire cast and production team for bringing "Dreamgirls" to the MunOpCo Music Theatre stage. How many of these performances do you remember? In the oral history Women of Motown by veteran music critic Susan Whitall, former Marvelette Katherine Anderson Schaffner talks about her group's Motown break: "We all sang in the [Inkster High] School glee club; that was one of the classes we had together. [8] Dreamgirls earned a total of $851,664 from the roadshow engagements, playing to sold-out houses on the weekends. [97] In a snapshot, Ed Sullivan appears presenting the real Supremes on his show. "[77] Reports emerged of significant behind-the-scenes in-fighting between the DreamWorks and Paramount camps, in particular between DreamWorks' David Geffen and Paramount CEO Brad Grey, over decision making and credit-claiming during the Dreamgirls awards campaign. Hundreds of girl groups recorded songs during the sixties, but hardly any of them were seasoned musicians. [98] There is also a solo album, Just In Time, recorded by Deena Jones shown in the film, the album cover for which is based on Dionne Warwick's 1970 album, Very Dionne. [22] Rose, significantly shorter than most of her co-stars at five feet and two inches (157cm), was required to wear (and dance in) four and five-inch (127mm) heels for much of the picture, which she later stated caused her discomfort. 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. [67], DreamWorks and Paramount began a significant awards campaign for Dreamgirls while the film was still in production. Girl groups subject matter articulated a common teenage experience, regardless of race, even as the culture around them was slow to catch up. 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. dreamgirls.movie. Crossing Color Lines. [8] Tickets for the reserved seats were $25 each; the premium price included a forty-eight page full-color program and a limited-print lithograph. 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. The real story of the 1960s girl groups, however, changed American music forever. The Supremes were three girls -- Ross, Ballard and Mary Wilson -- who grew up in the projects and originally called themselves the Primettes. Little Richard's song 'Tutti Frutti' [could] access that white suburban middle-class audience, but Little Richard himself [couldn't] do that. Postman." [45] The film's Los Angeles premiere was held on December 11 at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills. [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. 1 In Sluggish Sales Week. But the success of girl groups had to do with more than harmony and lyrics. For. [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. "This is not a singer-songwriter thing, where they were coming in with their own material," she says. [103] On February 23, a week before the Oscars ceremony, DreamWorks and Paramount issued an apology to Gordy and the other Motown alumni. Then everyone learns of Jimmy's unexpected death from a heroin overdose, which greatly upsets Lorrell. 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. The Dreamgirls cast of the Broadway version namely Jennifer Holiday, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine were the original members of "The Dreamettes" (later "The Dreams). . However, Deena clandestinely hopes the film will never come to be, pursuing other acting gigs. "[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. [82] Dreamgirls also received a record eleven Black Reel Award nominations, and won six of the awards, among them Best Film. [16] The completed film had a production budget of $75 million, making Dreamgirls the most expensive film with an all-black starring cast in cinema history. Screenwriter and director Bill Condon, who wrote Chicago's screenplay, met producer Laurence Mark at a Hollywood holiday party in late 2002, where the two discussed a long-held "dream project" of Condon's adapting Dreamgirls for the screen. [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". Dreamgirls Directed by Bill Condon Produced by Laurence Mark Written by Bill Condon Based on Dreamgirls by Henry Krieger Tom Eyen Starring Jamie Foxx Beyonc Knowles Eddie Murphy Danny Glover Anika Noni Rose Keith Robinson Jennifer Hudson Music by Stephen Trask Cinematography Tobias A. Schliessler Editing by Virginia Katz Studio In casting Hudson, Condon recalled that he initially was not confident he'd made the right decision, but instinctively cast Hudson after she'd auditioned several times because he "just didn't believe any of the others. That isn't to say teenagers weren't also listening to the original Little Richard. [19] The two had dinner with Geffen and successfully convinced him to allow Condon to write a screenplay for Dreamgirls. 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. "Love You I Do," with lyrics by Siedah Garrett, is performed in the film by Effie during a rehearsal at the Rainbow Records studio. The fantastic wigs look right, too. Unbeknownst to them Effie is pregnant with Curtis's child, but she doesn't say anything. The groups, usually made up of three to five singers, often formed through glee clubs and high schools, with many having backgrounds in church gospel music. [17], DreamWorks' Dreamgirls adaptation came about after the film version of the Broadway musical Chicago was a success at both the box office and the Academy Awards. Dreamgirls - Musical. Among the more direct references are the uses of adapted Supremes album cover designs for albums recorded in the film by the Dreams. [69][70] The resulting positive buzz earned Dreamgirls the status of "front-runner" for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture and several of the other Oscars as well. The book was released on October 31, 2006. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. When Early flames out, Curtis makes the Dreamettes into . 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Wilson as Magic White, Effie's daughter, Paul Kirby as Promo Film Narrator (voice), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 17:27. InWomen of Motown, The Marvelettes' Schaffner says, "I loved going on the road. 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. With girl groups, that becomes more possible.". ", "Musically, the girl group soundand popular music at the time in generalwas drawing on a lot different sources," says Warwick. This was not what Martha Reeves thought of when she sang the song. They announced that they were having a talent show. When they announced that, Gladys asked why don't we go ahead and be a part of the talent show. In any case, neither Franklin nor James ever belonged to the Supremes. This LP is an authentic Motown release, issued as Gordy 906 in June 1963. Wilson's own film double, character Lorrell Robinson played by Anika Noni Rose, is nothing like her, she says. 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. How true is Dreamgirls? Deena and Effie reconcile, with Effie telling her that Curtis is Magic's father. By 1965, however, Effie begins acting out, particularly when Curtis' affections also turn towards Deena. Both the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions were issued in two-disc formats. The movie is a big, splashy Hollywood/Broadway treatment of the R&B world, a breathtaking panorama of song, dance, personalities and drama tossed into the centrifuge of '60s black pop music. [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. 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