Cannes to Offer Sneak Peek of Dreamgirls Film, May 19

Audiences at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France will have a sneak peek of 20 minutes from the upcoming Dreamgirls film on May 19th, according to Variety.

Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose, as well as producer Laurence Mark and writer/director Bill Condon will turn out for the event, which will take place at the Martinez Hotel on the Croisette. "Aside from the footage and stars, Dreamgirls will also stage behind-the-scenes demos from the film by below the liners that include the film's costume designer, production designer, choreographer and cinematographer. Also on hand will be composer Henry Krieger, who'll offer a DVD demo of original and new songs he wrote for the film," states the article.

Set for a nationwide release on December 21st, the Dreamgirls film will star "American Idol"'s Hudson as Effie Melody White, the phenomenally talented vocalist who is considered unmarketable as the lead singer of the Supremes-like Motown group The Dreams, and who is dropped in favor of the glamorous Deena (played by pop superstar Knowles). Sharon Leal (Rent, "Guiding Light") will play Michelle, who replaces Effie in the Dreams. The cast also includes Eddie Murphy as soul superstar James "Thunder" Early, Danny Glover as Early's manager Marty Madison, Academy-Award winner Foxx as Dreams manager Curtis Taylor Jr., three-time Tony Award-winner Hinton Battle as Wayne, and Tony Award-winner Rose as Lorrell Robinson, the vivacious third member of the Dreams. Recently cast was John Lithgow, as a new character--a ruthless Hollywood producer.

Dreamgirls, a co-production between DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures that will be released domestically by the former and internationally by the latter, will be directed by Condon, the Academy Award-winner who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for the film version of Chicago. He will also adapt the screenplay from Tom Eyen's book (Eyen also wrote the lyrics to Henry Kreiger's music).
 
Dreamgirls opened at the Imperial Theatre on December 20th, 1981. A smash hit, it ran for 1521 performances and won 6 of it 13 Tony nominations. The show featured a score by Henry Krieger and Tow Ewen, a book by Ewen, scenic design by Robin Wagner, costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting design by Tharon Musser. Dazzlingly staged by Michael Bennett, the show nonetheless lost the Best Musical Tony to Nine. Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine were the three Dreams, and Cleavant Derricks, Ben Harney and Obba Babatunde were also featured. Dreamgirls was revived in 1987 with Lillias White, Alisa Gyse and Arnetia Walker. Heather Headley, Audra McDonald and White headlined the 2001 Actors' Fund benefit concert.

For more on the Dreamgirls film, visit www.dreamworks.com/dreamgirls.