I just saw the trailer for the movie version of this '80s Broadway musical. It flashes color saturated pics of the stars zipping by with their names following their image while the fabulous song, And I Am Telling You, plays. The version of And I Am Telling You in the trailer is the the showstopper sung by Jennifer Holliday and not the one from the movie. From what I understand, Jennifer Hudson (the American Idol loser Elton John was so upset about) is going to be playing Effie.
This has me a little dismayed. I’ve never seen the play on stage but have seen a film of the play and own the soundtract. I like it and I was hoping to like the movie too. But this switcheroo has me worried about Hudson’s ability to pull it off.
If Evita and A Chorus Line have taught me anything, it’s that movie versions of Broadway shows are a lot different from their originals; for one thing, you can do a lot more in a film than you can do on a stage in terms of sets and so forth.
I think I’d like to see this one, too. I haven’t seen the original at all, but it looks interesting and I love musical theater.
Just wanted to correct my description of the trailer. It does not mention Jennifer Hudson at all. Although she is one of the three Dreamgirls flashed in cool blue neon, the only actors name’s to appear are Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy.
How Eddie Murphy gets his name up in blue lights and the other two Dreamgirls get snubbed is beyond me.
Advance test audiences have gone nuts for the movie. And it’s directed by Bill Condon, who helmed Gods and Monsters and Kinsey, both brilliant, and cracked the screenplay for Chicago, which was one of the best parts of that movie (along with Queen Latifah and the photography). So yeah, I’m excited.