Read below the article for the Update on this story!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a rather disturbing rumor. I know that Knowles has got big boobs, long wavy hair and a sweet voice, but do we really want to see Harry dancing and shaking up on the stage... in drag? Well, of course we do! Now this is just a rumor for right now, but Harry's got... What? I'm writing a story here... hold on a minute, guys... What do you mean look at that again? It says Knowles in DREAMGIRLS... Oh... OHHHHH. It's Beyonce Knowles! Well, that makes more sense, then... Ahem...
Well, this is awkward... So, Beyonce may be in Bill Condon's adaptation of the musical dramatization of the story of the Supremes... That doesn't seem to jive with what Condon's been saying (Moriarty wrote a piece on this a few days ago, check it here!)
[Condon said he expects] to cast a star in the role of Curtis Taylor Jr., the Svengali who discovers singing group the Dreams and guides them to fame. They'll likely tap the rich crop of young singers for at least one member of the Dreams trio, but said they are open to creating a star, as the original musical did with Jennifer Holliday, who won a Tony for her show-stopping turn as Effie Melody White.
Beyonce is a pretty well known name, so if this RUMOR turns out to be true, then he likely changed his mind, although I've heard Condon hasn't held any casting meetings yet. It's possible Beyonce wowed him with a non-official meeting, I guess. I certainly like her work in GOLDMEMBER. She had the kick-ass Pam Grier vibe going strong and I loved her singing that disco/funktacular song! If she sang more stuff like that then I might buy one of her albums! But AUSTIN POWERS is hardly a good gauge on her acting abilities. I'll look for an official word on this. What do you folks think? Could she pull off a dramatic role? Remember Bill Condon was able to make Brendan Fraser give a good performance, so take that into consideration...
Update:
OK, so I just tracked down the origin of this story and it comes from IMDB. If you read my earlier post on TAXI DRIVER 2, then you know what I think if IMDB's news service. 99 times ouf 100 if it's news breaking on IMDB, it's either partially or completely wrong. WENN and Studio Briefing do gather their info from Tabloids, so it's no wonder they're so wrong so often. So let me break down the article:
Pop star Beyonce Knowles is being given the chance to expand her acting resume, and star in a new movie version of Broadway musical Dreamgirls.
I've recently had a few conversations with a bigwig at one of the Big 3 agencies about upcoming projects in general and we did talk about Condon's next. As far as he knows there have been no casting meetings for this film and the director and producers are adamant that everyone cast be note-perfect for their famous roles, whether they be Grammy-winning singers, movie stars or relative unknowns. The bigwig, who we'll call The Agent (ominous, isn't it?), said that the filmmakers seemed to be open to casting an ensemble of both names and unknowns, which jives with Moriary's quote from Condon above.
After cutting her acting teeth in Austin Powers sequel Goldmember and the upcoming Pink Panther remake, producers are convinced Knowles has what it takes to make a full-time film career - and want her to headline the movie, about a singing trio from Chicago,
Chicago? Wrong. It's Detroit, not Chicago. You know... as in Motown?
... loosely based on real life stars The Supremes. Beyonce is being tipped to play frontwoman Effie, the role made famous on Broadway by actress Jennifer Holliday.
Ummm... I may be wrong, but isn't Effie the chubby one of the group? And how would a trio be headlined by one person?
Chicago screenwriter/director Bill Condon
Holy Shit! Bill Condon wrote AND directed CHICAGO! Damn that Rob Marshall for stealing the director's title! Does this mean there are more films other than GODS AND MONSTERS and KINSEY that have been stolen from Condon?
is currently heading up the project and is rumored to want Ray star Jamie Foxx to take a role.
Jamie Foxx's name didn't come up when talking to "The Agent," but who doesn't want him these days, especially in a period musical? This is an obvious choice, true or not.
Filming is expected to start as early as this summer.
"The Agent" said that DREAMGIRLS would be filming in the Fall. At least that's what he told me and I tend to believe him more than a tabloid-pulled rumor.
So, does that mean Beyonce is out of the running? I can't say. I don't have enough information to say yes or no, but based on my talks with The Agent, I'm sure there have been no decisions made. Could she be cast? Sure, I'm sure she could. Is she cast right now? As of yesterday, there had been no meetings yet, so no. She's not. I'll keep my ear to the ground on this one, squirts!
