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Dreamgirls

The TVClubHouse: Movies & Library ARCHIVES: Movies & Library 2007 ~ 2008: Dreamgirls users admin

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Archive through December 30, 2006Goddessatlaw25 12-30-06  4:51 pm
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Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 3:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Just saw this and it was excellent!! Even though I had to sit way down in front cuz the theatre was packed. Jennifer Hudson did a wonderful job. Jennifer Holiday's version is platinum though I agree Gal. But J Hudson did make it her own also. Damn that was a good movie.

Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 6:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ginger1218 a private message Print Post    
I never saw it on Broadway, but I saw it today and it was great. It was so powerful. Jennifer Hudson was just incredible, I was crying when she sang And I Am Telling You. Beyonce was great, but I don't think she should be nominated the Best Actress and Hudson as Supporting. I think it should be the opposite. Jamie Fox and Eddie Murphy both deserve Oscars, this movie was just intense.
GAL, when you hear something on live stage, it also affects you differently than in a movie. I think that had a lot to do with it.

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 6:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
Ginger, you are so right about the stage experience. I have to say, though, whenever Holliday was on stage or Hudson was on screen no one else really mattered I was just rivited by them, and when they were off stage/screen I was waiting for when they'd come back on. They both dominate/d their casts, and not just because of the bravura nature role but because of their superior acting and singing.

Beyonce's not going to get nominated for best actress alongside Judi Dench and Meryl Streep, et al. She'll get a songwriting nomination for "Listen", but her part just didn't demand anything except look pretty and sing occasionally. She didn't even get to play the bitchy side of Diana Ross's rise to fame, she was just a sweet innocent along for the ride. Hudson can't go up in that category, either, because of the heavy hitters and they are giants this year. The producers are really going to want her to have a chance, and her chance will be in Best Supporting Actress.

On a side note, Jennifer Holliday is singing at Ah-nold's inaugural in Cali. This made me happy to hear - she's been so vocally bitter about being ignored/sidestepped in the making of this movie (then again Hudson's hill would have been much higher to climb if Holliday was around) that it's nice to see she hasn't been totally forgotten and their might be some bennies for her in this revival.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 9:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
I am confused, I loved Jeniffer Holiday in the broadway show, but she wasn't the producer, writer. What role did she want in the movie? What is she bitter about? Sheryl Lee Ralph wasn't involved in the movie either.

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 10:42 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
Texannie, I'll see if I can summarize what I understand of the situation:

1) They did give one of the original Dreamgirls a role in the cast, Loretta Devine - she played a jazz singer in the movie. Also, the male lead from the stageplay says he was offered a role but declined;

2) Sheryl Lee Ralph, the male lead from the stageplay (can't remember his name off the top of my head), and Jennifer Holliday have all maintained that Dreamgirls was developed in workshop utilizing creative contributions and character development provided by the cast;

3) In addition, and legendarily, Jennifer Holliday quit the cast (or Michael Bennett fired her, depending whom you believe) before Broadway and refused to return until they wrote Effie back into the second half of the show. She was supposed to die after the first act. Jennifer believed that Effie's redemption would be an integral part of the second half of the show, and also she had no intention of sitting in her dressing room for the second half of the show while everyone else played out the show and then have to go out for curtain call. Jennifer was also correct, in my opinion, that she, Effie, and her talents were the heart and soul of the stageplay. Eventually, after trying to recast Effie, Michael Bennett came around to Holliday's way of thinking, hired her back and rewrote the part;

4. The original castmembers were forced to sign contracts that relinquished any part of the residuals for future performances or movies, etc. based on the stageplay for $1.00. Yes, that's one dollar. Not entirely unusual for the times, but nonetheless an injustice to what all agree were their contributions to the play's development;

5. Out of respect for the lengend of the Broadway production and Michael Bennett's groundbreaking staging (Michael Bennett died of AIDS I believe in 1987), his good friend and Dreamgirls producer David Geffen bought the rights to Dreamgirls in its entirety and has refused to permit any stage or film production of the same until now. As far as I know, outside of a brief period in development when Nell Carter played Effie and possibly Holliday's understudy, no one has ever played Effie except Jennifer Holliday;

6. Not only was Holliday not invited to the premier of the movie, she was asked not to attend on the promise of a private screening for her. She refused;

7. Nonetheless, Holliday's voice singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was used for all of the promotional theatrical trailers leading up to the release of the film;

8. Holliday has struggled since Dreamgirls, depressions and a failed suicide attempt, failed marriages, having to resort to surgery to control weight gain, flagging career. Her career victories have been few and far between, but Dreamgirls has always been there for her to point to as her untouchable legacy;

8. Basically, Holliday's point is they didn't have to shut her out of her legacy and deny her the opportunity to put herself back in the public eye in order for there to be room for Hudson to also shine.

I hope this made some sense.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 12:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Yes. How very sad on her account. I loved her in the show, but imho, I disagree with her. There have been many broadway shows where the 'originator' did not go on to play their part in the movie. Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady comes to mind. Richard Burton in Camelot.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 12:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Jennifer Holliday did make a comeback on Allie McBeal.

Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 12:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Colordeagua a private message Print Post    
Patti LuPone was on Broadway and didn't get chosen for the part in the movie -- don't remember if it was Sunset Boulevard or Evita. I remember hearing Patti was very disappointed.

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 1:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
I have to say I do have a great deal of sympathy for Holliday in this situation. Patti LuPone, Julie Andrews and Richard Burton have always had other projects, stage or screen, to hang their hats on. People actually write/wrote roles with them in mind, and they've never had to wrap themselves around one brief moment in time for validation. If anyone wrote Holliday another role for the stage, I'm not aware of it. Part of that may have been her doing, no one denies she was a total diva on Dreamgirls, but then again Streisand is the diva of all time and she managed to have many roles written for her after FunnyGirl (also she got to play the movie role). Why not Holliday? Anyway, I'm a fan of hers and I'd like to see her leading a happy and creative life. She may have been the victim of severe career mis-management and her own behavioral demands, I don't know. But I do know if I had any playwriting talent at all I'd write Holliday a new Broadway play every-other year just so I could hear her sing, just like they used to do for Ethel Merman.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 2:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
I would love to see her in something else! She is such a talent. It makes me so very sad to think that she could never get past her success as Effie.

Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Monday, January 01, 2007 - 3:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ketchuplover a private message Print Post    
Doesn't sound like a happy Holliday to me :-(

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 7:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
Heard that Beyonce won't be in contention for a songwriting Academy Award. Apparently the rules permit only three songwriters to be nominated for each song, and "Listen" had four songwriters. The songwriter's guild (I don't remember the name of it) determines who is in contention for an Academy Award nomination for each song, and they seem to have chosen the other three writers as prospective nominees for "Listen" and left Beyonce out in the cold.

Also, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy have been nominated as supporting actor/ress by the Screen Actor's Guild. The cast of Dreamgirls was nominated as a group for best ensemble or something like that. No Beyonce or Jamie Foxx individual nominations.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 7:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
I read that about Beyonce not being considered for songwriting. She probably only wrote a couple of words just to get the credit for money purposes anyway.

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 7:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
yeah, she has the reputation for doing that

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Friday, January 05, 2007 - 6:52 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
She will get the honor, publicity, pleasure of performing the show at the ceremony.

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, January 05, 2007 - 10:59 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tishala a private message Print Post    
Patti LuPone did the London version of Sunset Boulevard and was supposed to do it on Broadway but Andrew Lloyd Webber, for whatever reason, decided to cast Glenn CLose in the role instead. Patti was, and still is, pissed about that, but she has the honor of having the respect and support of Stephen Sondheim, who puts her in many of his musicals and whose talent puts Lloyd Webber's to shame.

The sad fact about Jennifer Holliday is that there are not many roles for African American women on Broadway, particularly when they reach a certain age. And I think one people also loved the "big" Jennifer Holliday and were not willing to accept her when she lost weight. Besides, she tried to be an R&B star for a while, to some success, and may have decided to put Broadway on the back burner for a while....

Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Friday, January 05, 2007 - 2:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ketchuplover a private message Print Post    
Dreamgirls still isn't here. I think the cinema here is geared a little more to the younger set.

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Friday, January 05, 2007 - 6:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
KL, it's not here either, but I have heard that it will be opening in wider release at the end of this month.

Loyolamom
Member

05-10-2005

Monday, January 08, 2007 - 2:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Loyolamom a private message Print Post    
No Dreamgirls here either! Ladytex, I hope you're right about a wider release. I thought it wasn't here because all of our theaters are owned by the same family and they have a tendency to suck in regards to what movies we get and how long they keep some of them here.

Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 10:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ketchuplover a private message Print Post    
It's coming here!

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 4:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
Yay!! It'll be only 15 miles away from me this weekend! I'm excited ... 15 miles is much better than the 50+ it was before, lol ...

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 5:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Yay!

Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 3:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ketchuplover a private message Print Post    
Saw it today. Very good. Got the CD after.

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 3:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
I was gonna go see it this weekend, but there is a winter storm warning, many roads are closed because of flooding, it's supposed to freeze once the sun goes down (not that it ever really came up today), and they are on tv begging people to stay off the roads ...

Bluejaxrock
Member

04-23-2004

Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 6:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Bluejaxrock a private message Print Post    
Saw it today. I had to...I've been listening to (and "performing") the play version for the last 3 months. Gotta admit it was a great transition to film. Even the parts from the play that they cut and the songs they added were ok. I missed the scene in the play between Lorell and Jimmy...and CC & Michelle's scene, but overall, I give it a huge thumbs up.
If you go, be prepared for applause in the theater.

Ladybug6377
Member

09-04-2006

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 4:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladybug6377 a private message Print Post    
This movie was awesome, Jennifer Hudson was just FANTASTIC, she stole the show and Eddie Murphy was just great also, i absolutely love it, i am so proud of Jennifer.

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 8:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
Anyone who hasn't seen this movie yet should rent it at the video store or call it up "On Demand." I watched it again (I saw it once in the theater) and enjoyed it even more the second time around. The first time I was pretty nervous about Jennifer Hudson and how she would do, this time I actually focused on the secondary performances. Eddie Murphy was fantastic as Thunder Early, and I developed a crush on the guy who played Effie's brother, the songwriter. He's very good (and has a killer smile). Who is he, anyway?

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 10:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ladytex a private message Print Post    
His name is Keith Robinson and HERE is his myspace page. He was also in the tv show American Dreams.

Jedisan
Member

01-11-2002

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 4:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jedisan a private message Print Post    
Funny, I popped in the Dreamgirls soundtrack while on my commute this morning - i have been singing at the top of my lungs all the way to work and back (thank gawd i don't ride the 'el' anymore - i may have been banned, i just can't help myself.
Then to come home and see this thread bumped.
ooh la la!
Thanks so much GAL }- and ITA about Keith Robinson.
And I recommend getting the DVD - the two disc version. The many musical numbers that were edited are shown in their full glory on the dvd. 'Step in to the Badside' is more lengthy (more Keith!) I bought the dvd the day it came out (5/1) it was my gift to myself (what was the occasion? oh yeah - It was an "I love ME" kind of day. LOL)
ITA also about Eddie Murphy.}

Goddessatlaw
Member

07-19-2002

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 7:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Goddessatlaw a private message Print Post    
Thanks for the link, Lady. I am surprised at his career, I thought he was an up-and-coming Broadway vet like Anika Noni Rose. Jedisan, I'll be sure to get the two-disc, superdeluxe edition of the DVD.