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. Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's. 216,688 people like this. And, of course, white artists also re-recorded songs done by black artists. [84] The Dreamgirls soundtrack was also nominated for the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. Dreamgirls is the first live-action film to receive three nominations for Best Song; previously the Disney animated features Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994) had each received three Academy Award nominations for Best Song; Enchanted (2007) has since repeated the feat. The Supremes were three girls -- Ross, Ballard and Mary Wilson -- who grew up in the projects and originally called themselves the Primettes. She died broke, at age 32, in 1976. Just as it's gaining local radio play, Curtis uses payola to force radio stations to play The Dreams' disco cover of the song. Schumacher planned to have Lauryn Hill[18] portray Deena and Kelly Price play Effie. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $155 million at the international box office. "[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. Outside Motown, The Shangri-Las were singing songs about good girls loving bad boys, such as "Leader of the Pack." We were into, or going into the Vietnam War. However, after casting was completed, the film was budgeted at $73 million and Warner backed out of the production. 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. and Effie's sung reunion "Effie, Sing My Song", which was replaced with an alternative spoken version.[15][42]. He appoints the slimmer, more conventionally attractive Deena as the new lead singer, renaming them "The Dreams". [citation needed] A scrapbook, entitled Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical, was released on March 27, 2007. Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the . He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. Character Lorrell Robinson Show Dreamgirls Gender Female Age Range Young Adult, Adult Role Size Lead Dancing Mover Voice Soprano High Note G5 Low Note D#4/Eb4 Vocal Technique Belting, Pop Time & Place Various cities throughout the U.S., 1960s-1970s Tags For American girls to see female groups was something new. He also brought in professional choreographers. 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? [19] Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Terrence Howard were among the other actors also approached to play Curtis. [103] On February 23, a week before the Oscars ceremony, DreamWorks and Paramount issued an apology to Gordy and the other Motown alumni. The character of Deena Jones leaves the Dreams in 1972 to pursue a career as an actress. Dreamgirls is a fictional work, adapted from a 1981 successful Broadway musical inspired by the real-life story and success of The Supremes. The fantastic wigs look right, too. Schaffner of The Marvelettes talks about the song's political significance in Marc Taylor's book The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group. However, Deena clandestinely hopes the film will never come to be, pursuing other acting gigs. [71], Following the success of the Cannes screening, DreamWorks and Paramount began a widespread "For Your Consideration" advertisement campaign, raising several eyebrows by demoting Jennifer Hudson to consideration for Best Supporting Actress and presenting Beyonc Knowles as the sole Best Actress candidate, as opposed to having both compete for Best Actress awards. [7] "Listen", with additional music by Scott Cutler and Beyonc, and lyrics by Anne Preven, is presented as a defining moment for Deena's character late in the film. 1 In Sluggish Sales Week. In New York, Phil Spector produced girl group songs using his famous "wall of sound," a production technique that employed a huge amount of instruments and layered track after track on top of each other. [31], Dreamgirls received eight 2007 Academy Award nominations covering six categories, the most of any film for the year, although it was not nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or either of the lead acting categories. Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content. When Jimmy bombs in front of an all-white Miami Beach supper club audience, Curtis sends him out on the road alone, keeping The Dreamettes behind to headline in his place. [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. ", Edwards, David and Callahan, Mike (1999). The film won the awards for Best Picture Comedy or Musical, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. [80] It was also named as one of the American Film Institute's top ten films of 2006. But for many girls, fame also offered an array of new opportunities. [19] When offered the part of Curtis, Foxx initially declined because DreamWorks could not meet his salary demands. The book was released on October 31, 2006. He gathered a stellar group of area jazz musicians (all men), known collectively as The Funk Brothers. "[57] Television host Oprah Winfrey saw the film during a November 15 press screening, and telephoned Hudson on the Oprah episode airing the next day, praising her performance as "a religious experience" and "a transcendent performance. Diana Ross, long a critic of the Broadway version of Dreamgirls for what she saw as an appropriation of her life story,[99] denied having seen the film version. The film's nominations included Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, and three nominations for Best Song ("Listen", "Love You I Do", and "Patience"). | The most inauthentic part of the whole portrait is the music, which owes as much to such mid-'80s pop dreck as "You Light Up My Life" as to the actual Motown sound. Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for Effie White from Dreamgirls. Wake Me Up from this 'Dreamgirls' nightmare! The Broadway show had been had been partly financed by music mogul turned film producer David Geffen, who retained rights to produce the movie. "The most surprised was Motown. The DVD version was issued in two editions: a one-disc standard version and a two-disc "Showstopper Edition". 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. 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 They were also among the first black musicians to appear onThe Ed Sullivan Show. Of course, some of the girls were so young that chaperones accompanied them on toursometimes their parents. But Krieger has said the songs "are nowhere close to the Motown sound." What is the Dreamgirls story based on? [19][34] The scene was felt by everyone involved to be pivotal to the film, as "And I Am Telling You" was Jennifer Holliday's show-stopping number in the original Broadway musical. ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Most of us are familiar with "Dreamgirls" through the 2006 film that garnered Jennifer Hudson an Oscar. 5, 537553. [100] On the other hand, Mary Wilson attended the film's Los Angeles premiere, later stating that Dreamgirls moved her to tears and that it was "closer to the truth than they even know". Everywhere they went on tour that summer, there were riots. Early's evolution is also marvelously reflected in his changing tonsorial and sartorial styles. . [81] The film was also nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Best Picture and the Directors Guild of America for Bill Condon's directing. Later that night, Hudson won the BET Award for Best Actress. And even if it gets much more right than it does wrong, "Dreamgirls" is still an imagining of the rough and gritty life of the R&B performer, a pop musical divertissement rather than an earthy, true-to-life account. 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 connection between the fictional Dreams and the real-life Supremes is underlined by costume designer Sharen Davis, whose magnificent creations accurately echo the outlandish outfits Ross, Wilson and Ballard used to wriggle into. With three Golden Globe awards and eight Academy Award nominations, Dreamgirls has renewed interest in the girl groups of the 1960s as well as Motown Records, the Detroit-based company that became one of the most influential labels of the time. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The film adaptation features an ensemble cast, starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonc Knowles and Eddie Murphy with Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose and Keith Robinson in supporting roles. Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown was also in the running for the role but was eventually cast as the legal secretary to Foxxs character. 'Dreamgirls' Gets Standing Ovations, Cheers, Loretta Devine & Sheryl Lee Ralph Attend L.A. 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. [36] The award-winning Broadway lighting team of Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer were brought in to create theatrical lighting techniques for the film's musical numbers. Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, vol. SUPREME BEINGS: WHAT 'DREAMGIRLS' GETS RIGHT, Detroit trio known as the Supremes have become a million-dollar enterprise in the space of a year through a combination of glamour trappings and a new rock n roll sound. The timing of 'Postman' was excellent. Though Effie defiantly and desperately appeals to Curtis, he, C.C., and The Dreams abandon her, forging ahead to stardom. Also, Beyonce's Deena Jones is not Diana Ross and Jamie Foxx is not playing Berry. | [55] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. 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