Talk:Dreamgirls (film)

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Dreamgirls (film) is chosen to become one of the random selected articles on the R&B and Soul Music Portal. A selected article should be R&B and Soul Music-related, well-written and interesting. Featured, A-class and GA class are considered well-written. If you can update or improve this article, please do. If you support or oppose this nomination, please leave comments
Good article Dreamgirls (film) has been listed as one of the Arts good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can delist it, or ask for a reassessment.


Contents

[edit] Photos

Does anybody else think this page could use a photo? Maybe one of the Dreamgirls? CaravaggioFan 19:02, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

Added a screencap found on Jennifer Hudson's page. It's not great but it'll do for now. -Big Smooth 16:34, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Opinions About Casting

How can you put in the artical the fact that Sheryl Lee Ralph (the original Denna from the broadway musical) doesnt agree with Beyonce being cast as denna. Here is the Link the the interview: [1] Does it need to be in the artical.

[edit] End details

I want to make a note of this in the final part of the plot as it was important to the film but not sure how to go about wording it. Any takers?

(I changed the heading of the section) I'd hold off on summarizing the entire film until it's been out for a bit; perhaps in January. I've already got a "full" summary written and saved. I know the film is a remake, but I don't want to have to give away the entire film (because some things do change) before it actually has a chance to come out. --FuriousFreddy 18:47, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reception section

Impressive article! Kudos to whoever has kept up this long and this much with the film. I'd like to make a suggestion, though — can the second half of the Production history section be broken off into a Reception section? The information at 2.6 and beyond is after post-production, when the film is completed. Otherwise, it's odd for the Production history section to have all these subsections, and the rest of the article's sections having none. —Erik (talk • contrib) - 19:20, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Eddie Murphy's Character

Wouldn't Eddie Murphy's character be influenced by Little Richard as well? I saw the movie and there was a scence with man who portrayed Marvin Gaye (seperate from Eddie Murphy). He looked exactly like Marvin Gaye, too! Bearly541 00:55, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

No one portrays Marvin Gaye in this film. --FuriousFreddy 00:10, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
No one portrays Marvin Gaye in the film, but there is someone who looks like Marvin Gaye in the film. Refreshing meomory: It's the scene after the Dreams leave Jimmy out of the group and he is smoking a cigarrette/joint while talking with someone. Bearly541 19:34, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
Oh, I got you now: you're talking about Jimmy's pianist. Yeah, he does look a lot like Marvin Gaye. --FuriousFreddy 03:25, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
Actually, the entire sequence where Jimmy records (but fails to release) "Patience" is a direct reference to the conception of What's Going On (154.5.194.215 00:03, 23 June 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Wide Release

Why is the general release in only 850 theatres or so when most films open wide to over 2,500?

Dreamgirls is both a musical and an African-American film; both are genres that are not typically released to wide audiences. Paramount apparently wanted to test the waters first before opening the movie in more than 800 theaters (and they couldn't expand until January 12 because they only made 900 prints of the film and needed time to make more). --FuriousFreddy 15:30, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
Is this relevant to discussion on editing the article? This isn't a bulletin board.NYDCSP 06:22, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
It expands upon information covered in the article. It was one short question and answer, not a full-blooded conversation. --FuriousFreddy 04:50, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Does this look right to you?

". . . Duh. It's a Broadway score, channeling its force and feeling through a Broadway idiom."

I dont think the "Duh" belongs here.

It's a quote from a reviewer. --FuriousFreddy 15:28, 13 January 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Its failure to gain a Best Picture or Best Director nod was widely viewed by the entertainment press as a "snub" by the Academy.

This is true that there is this perception, but is so common as to not warrant any mention. The fact is there are hundreds of movies to choose from. And while the Academy is often accused of being dull and safe, every time they do something unpredictable then it is accused of a snub. People thought Brokeback Mountain and Saving Private Ryan were locks to win. Same with Lauren Bacall for Best Supporting Actress in 1996. Same with Kate Hudson not long ago. Hundreds of other movies were not nominated and therefore "snubbed." And three other nominees are snubbed every time a surprise winner takes the award. I do not believe Dreamgirls was snubbed. It's a good film, but no better than the actual nominees for Best Picture.74.99.213.103 09:52, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Working towards FA

I think this article, IMHO, is a high candidate for being an FA article. All we need is a peer review, a re-assessment, and a nomination. I am working on getting a request for a peer review now. Real96 19:45, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

The difference between featured and good articles Wikipedia:Compare_Criteria_Good_v._Featured. Real96 00:40, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA Passed

Excellent GA. I would recommend cutting down wherever possible, and adding inlines in certain key places, like the plot summary. A few more inlines throughout in other sections would be helpful. As always, another peer review would be helpful. DoomsDay349 19:18, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merging of Articles

I think the articles should be merged to the play version, and not the movie version, because some facts which are related to the play are in the articles. Real96 17:24, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When to nominate for Featured Article/Updates on Film

I found this on the Yahoo! Oscars website. It is a disclaimer which Motown obtained for the movie. Also, Smokey Robinson had to say some words about the film, shown here. Should this information be incorporated into the article, into a contraversy section?

Also, I am nominiating this article to FA after the Oscars, since that's when the article will be the stablest (i.e. not a high vandal rate). Real96 01:39, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comments:

  1. It is not good form to have such a long parenthetical filled with inessential trivia in what is supposed to be a professional piece of writing. In addition, despite widespread use on Wikipedia (where most of the writing is of very poor quality to begin with, part of the reason I don't want to edit anymore), you should never begin an article with a sentence like "Dreamgirls is an Academy Award-winning film," because that conveys bias ("look! The article I wrote is about an award-winning movie!"). Instead, begin with an impartial sentence and casually mention the two Academy Award wins later in the opening paragraph.
  2. The Shirelles were not a Motown act. Despite the creators of the stage musical bending over backwards to state that their film is not based on the Supremes, the film version explicitly expresses otherwise with literally dozens of Supremes and Motown references (not to mention the fact that the setting of the film is changed to "Motor City" Detroit). Articles and interviews about the film version also point to such.

--FuriousFreddy 02:13, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

In the area "Allusions to factual event"

"the subplot of Deena being forced to star in Curtis' Cleopatra film against her will, reflect both scenes from and the production of Mahogany, a 1975 Motown film starring Diana Ross and directed by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.. [62] "

I felt that this part more represented "The Wiz" because she complained that it was about Cleopatra at the age of 16, similar to the Dorothy Character in "The Wiz". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.248.61.236 (talk) 19:17, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

4.248.61.236 (talk) 19:19, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Gordy wasn't as directly involved in the production of THe Wiz, and Diana Ross very much wanted to make that film. --FuriousFreddy (talk) 14:29, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of Jennifer Hudson; changes to billing

Recently, anonymous users have twice removed Jennifer Hudson from the credits and removed references to her Oscar, along with moving Beyoncé Knowles to top billing. The removal of Hudson doesn't make sense – an Oscar-winning performance is certainly notable, and Jamie Foxx received top billing in the film and on the poster (shown). I will restore the information removed again, and invite the anonymous editor(s) to justify these changes. Cleduc 03:33, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image

Is there an image for use on the R&B and Soul Music Portal which is not a fair use image? SriMesh | talk 22:31, 26 March 2008 (UTC)