The musical genre has been getting a good work out the last few years, thanks mostly to 2002's "Chicago" which drew critical laudits, big box-office and awards galore. Its a tough genre to crack though, especially with US audiences, as despite solid reviews both Baz Luhrmann's more overblown "Moulin Rouge" and Joel Schumacher's more conventional "Phantom of the Opera" did only moderate business domestically (around $55M each versus Chicago's $170M).
That hasn't stopped the wheels turning though as this week sees the film version of famous 1996 musical "Rent" come to the screen. Next year however the stage is even bigger with what's arguably the most interesting effort since "Chicago" to make it onto film - an adaptation of the award-winning 1981 Broadway show "Dreamgirls" which has been both hailed as a modern classic and considered one of the more important musicals in Broadway's recent history. Samples from the original cast score, including such numbers as "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and "Steppin' To The Bad Side" can be found here.
Now, the official site for this film version has gone online revealing nothing much yet short of the logo design, some basic facts about the film, impressive wallpaper, and a special offer - in a bold move, the site says that Dreamworks Pictures and owners of the original musical are offering to pay the licensing fees for all high school, college and community theatre amateur productions of "Dreamgirls" done in the calendar year of 2006 in the US and Canada (certain types like dinner theatre are excluded though). Those interested in giving it a go should click the logo below for more details and conditions.
Already the likes of Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce Knowles, Danny Glover and Jennifer Hudson have signed onboard the movie with rehearsals presently underway in Los Angeles for the shoot beginning January 9th. Award winning director Bill Condon ("Kinsey", "Gods & Monsters"), the man who did the tricky job of turning "Chicago" in a film script (and came up with that signature trick of setting the musical numbers inside the lead character's mind) is helming and everything so far is progressing smoothly towards a December 2006 release. A teaser trailer is expected relatively soon as well.
Thanks to 'Bel Ami Pool Owner'
