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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Dreamgirls
| When we first met the Dreamettes, they were late for their scheduled position in the talent show. Why were they late? | "Dreamgirls" Part 1
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Deena's mother wouldn't go to bed.. Deena (played by Beyonce Knowles) was quite young and her mother did not let her out at night, so she had to wait for her mother to go to bed in order to sneak out. Later, when the girls left to go on tour with James Early (played by Eddie Murphy) we saw her leaving an envelope with her sleeping mother to explain her absence.
No. Allowed to go on even after they missed their designated spot, the girls wowed the crowd with their song "Move". You could tell that they fully expected to win because the audience had been so receptive, but they lost to Tiny Joe Dixon. They did, however, score the job of going on tour with James Early, as his back-up singers.
| Why did James 'Thunder' Early have such a hard time keeping his back-up singers? | "Dreamgirls" Part 1
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He was quite a womanizer.. In the beginning of the film, we saw his manager offering many of the all girl bands, who had competed in the talent show, the chance to sing back-up with Early. Some of the girls showed interest, until they found out who they'd be working with. When Early questioned how things were going, his manager told him that he had to start keeping his hands off of the girls. The fact that Early was married did not make his advances welcome to most of the girls.
Effie’s brother. C.C. White (played by Keith Robinson) wrote most of the songs for the Dreamettes. Once they hooked up with James Early, C.C. started writing songs for him too. When the girls started to be managed by Curtis Taylor Jr. (played by Jamie Foxx), he also signed C.C. and began to control which of his songs became recorded.
| When we first met Curtis Taylor Jr., he was hanging around the talent show, trying to get a toehold into the music business. What paying job did he have at that time? | "Dreamgirls" Part 1
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car salesman. Curtis started making himself valuable to the musicians by securing shows and auditions for them, and before long he had replaced their old manager. He eventually became a very successful promoter with his own record label. Unfortunately he started buying into his own hype and became more and more controlling, disposing of people whenever they gave him any trouble.
Lorrell. The first night the girls sang back-up for him, Early set his sights on the young Lorrell. Early in their touring days she refused his advances because he was married, but somewhere along the line she succumbed. Their relationship lasted seven years (she gave him a kiss for every year they were together) but she left him the night his wife showed up in the audience. He died of an overdose shortly after that.
Curtis Taylor Jr.. Effie (played by Jennifer Hudson) and Curtis shared an attraction from very early on in their professional relationship. Many comments were exchanged about how Curtis preferred real women, with a little meat on their bones, because he had been raised by his sisters who were both of a similar build.
Jennifer Hudson gained twenty pounds to play the role.
Rainbow Records. Curtis’ success as a manager and promoter grew until he had his very own recording label, very much like Barry Gordy Jr. had the Motown Records label. All of the acts that Curtis managed recorded on his label.
| The Dreamettes were finally separated from James Early and were promoted on their own. What new name did Curtis give them? | "Dreamgirls" Part 1
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The Dreams . Curtis booked James Early and the Dreamettes into a very prestigious club in Miami, as the first black act ever to perform there. Early’s blatant sexuality offended some of the patrons and the club owner was obviously displeased with this. Curtis made the decision to send Early off to his previous type of bookings and to focus on the girls. He told the girls that they would be The Dreams, because they were all grown up and Dreamettes was a name for little girls.
| When the girls were finally given their own act, Curtis chose to make Deena the lead singer. Who had been the group’s original lead singer, before they started singing back-up for Early? | "Dreamgirls" Part 1
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Effie. Although Effie definitely had the strongest voice, Curtis was very much into image and decided to push Deena (played by Beyonce Knowles) as the lead singer, because she was the most beautiful one of the three.
"Dreamgirls" was loosely based on the story of The Supremes. Some of the wigs and costumes chosen at this point in the storyline left little room for doubt about who Deena was being styled after!
Anika Noni Rose. Anika Noni Rose previously won a Tony in 2004 for her part in "Caroline, or Change". In "Dreamgirls", she plays Eddie Murphy's love interest and part of the Dreamgirls trio.
| Which character says, "Music is supposed to sell," when talking to the group about their new image and their new music? | Dreamgirls
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Curtis Taylor, Jr.. Curtis Taylor, Jr. was played by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx.
| What group name did the Dreams originally go by? | Dreamgirls
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The Dreamettes. Curtis changed the Dreamettes to the Dreams, because he thought that the Dreams sounded more grown-up and fit their new image better.
| When Deena Jones is talking with the Hollywood director about starring in his movie, what is the name of the character that she wants to play? | Dreamgirls
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Dawn. Deena (played by Beyonce Knowles) talks with the director and writer about changing the name, because she doesn't think the name "Dawn" fits with the character. She says that she never knew anyone named Dawn who lived in the ghetto.
| What actor plays Effie White's brother, C.C.? | Dreamgirls
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Keith Robinson. C.C. White writes all of the songs for the Dreamettes (later known as the Dreams) and also choreographs their moves.
| What does Effie White name her daughter? | Dreamgirls
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Magic. Curtis, the father of Magic, finally finds out he has a daughter at the end of the movie. Curtis sees Magic in the audience and apparently, puts two and two together, since no one directly tells him that she is his daughter.
| What song do the Dreams unknowningly steal from Effie? | Dreamgirls
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One Night Only. Curtis discovers Effie has recorded a successful song and takes it so that the Dreams can make their own disco version of "One Night Only".
Bill Condon. Bill Condon also directed the movie. Condon also wrote "Chicago" in 2002 and directed "Kinsey" in 2004.
| The girls launched into a successful career without James Early, with Deena established as the lead singer. Did Effie take this change gracefully? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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No. When first informed of the decision, Effie voiced a rather poignant plea about being pushed aside because of her looks. She was convinced by everyone involved, including her own brother, that it was for the greater good of the group. However it obviously irked Effie no end, and her facial expressions while singing were often less than happy. She actually walked out on one performance.
While what was done to Effie was unquestionably wrong, Effie was portrayed as having a 'what about me?' attitude that was not very pleasant.
| What historical event served as a back-drop for one of the recording sessions? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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Detroit City Riots. Although the riots were referenced a few other times during the movie, the point was most dramatically brought home during one recording session, when Effie ran out of the recording studio in anger, only to be confronted with the violence. Curtis ran after her, to bring her back in to safety. The contrast between the beautiful image that Curtis was developing and the raw emotion of the times was very striking.
The Detroit riots began on July 23, 1967, when police raided an illegal drinking establishment and arrested the 83 African American patrons found within. Angry crowds, already pushed to the edge by racial tensions and the discriminatory attitude of the time, responded by smashing windows, starting a riot that lasted for five days. President Johnson ended the rioting by sending in the National Guard and regular Army troops, but not before the damage was done. In excess of 2,000 buildings were burned down, and over 7,000 arrests were made. Most tragic of all was the loss of 43 lives, with an additional 467 people being injured.
Her attitude was poor and she missed a lot of rehearsals.. Effie had not been feeling well, and had missed a lot of important meetings and rehearsals. They were preparing for a New Year's Eve performance, when the club owner reminded them that the patrons had paid to see a three girl act. Curtis hired a replacement before telling Effie that she was done and would be bought out. Effie was clearly distraught by this news, particularly by the fact that she was also being kicked out of Curtis' life.
Curtis. Effie accused Curtis of sleeping with Deena before he was finished with her. The looks on both Curtis and Deena's faces confirmed her suspicions. After kicking Effie out of the group, they were able to become more public about their relationship, and eventually married.
| Curtis was anxious to make Deena a movie star. What role did he really want her to play? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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Cleopatra. Curtis saw this as a chance to exploit her beauty and tried to convince her by telling her that by playing a queen, she would serve as a role model for young black girls for generations to come. Deena did not want to play the role, stating that she felt too old to play Cleopatra, who was 16 years old throughout most of the film. Deena tried to get herself lined up in a more down to earth film, but Curtis caught wind of it and cancelled her plans.
Interestingly enough Beyonce Knowles, who played Deena, played a character named Foxxy Cleopatra in "Austin Powers in Goldmember". Jamie Foxx played Curtis in "Dreamgirls".
| When we next saw Effie, she had burned through the money she received when kicked out of the group, and was living on social assistance with her almost nine year old daughter. Who was the father of her daughter? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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Curtis Taylor Jr.. Although Effie said at one point that her daughter didn’t have a father, she did admit to Deena that Curtis was the father and that Curtis did not know. At the farewell concert, when Effie was invited to join the Dreams on stage, Curtis saw Effie singing to her daughter in the front row, and obviously put two and two together.
| Out of money and living on social assistance, Effie decided to try and pull her life back together. Who did she turn to for help? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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Marty Madison. Marty Madison (played by Danny Glover) had been Early's original manager and the man who first hired the Dreamettes to go on the road with James Early. When Curtis was climbing his ladder to success, Marty was one of his first casualties. Effie sought Marty out and he took her on, finally finding her a job singing in a club.
at James Early's wake. Effie remained very bitter about her brother's role in her being ousted from the group and refused to read the notes that he sent her or spend the money that he enclosed. After Curtis' callous treatment of Early resulted in his death by overdose, C.C. finally got fed up with Curtis' controlling ways and quit.
Effie came home one day to find her brother in her apartment (with their father), but she refused to talk to him and ran away. Later, at Early's wake, he approached her and they were able to start to rebuild a relationship.
C.C.. Working together again, C.C. and Effie came up with a song that was sure to put Effie back on top. However Curtis took the song, had the Dreams record it and paid money to have Effie's version squashed. The Dreams ended up with the big hit that Effie should have had.
The song was really written by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen.
| Curtis ended up being confronted with the illegality of his acts and threatened with a lawsuit. He chose to back down instead, and put his support behind Effie's version of the song. Who provided the papers that gave proof of Curtis' wrongdoing? | "Dreamgirls" Part 2
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Deena. Already disillusioned with her controlling husband, Deena was devastated to find what he had yet again done to Effie. She found his records of payoffs to disc jockeys, and although we didn't see whom she actually gave these to, they ended up in Effie’s lawyer’s hands. When leaving her husband, Deena admitted to having done this.
It's All Over. Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose) sang this lyric. She was talking to Deena (Beyonce Knowles) and Effie (Jennifer Hudson) when Deena and Effie were fighting about being the lead singer and who Curtis was in love with. Lorrell tried to help them work out their problems and to stop fighting.
| "You used to be so light and free. You used to smile just looking at me."
Are these lyrics in any of the songs from 'Dreamgirls'? | "Dreamgirls" - Song Lyrics
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Yes. In the question above, the lyrics were from the song 'Heavy'.
The line from the question showed that someone used to really care about someone else and that they used to have a happy disposition but now it's all gone.
Effie was mad at Deena and Curtis, so she stormed out when they were performing this song in the movie.
I Am Changing. This composition was sung by Jennifer Hudson when she was in the bar/lounge in the movie. Effie was looking for a job and she kept saying that the only thing she knew how to do was sing, and this was the song she sang for the bar/lounge owner as an audition to sing there. That turned out to be her new job.
Also, she sang it because she was having a miserable time in her life then. So Effie decided that she would try better as a person and try to make a better life for her child, Magic.
Specifically, the line meant that she has made mistakes in her life and that she had lost friends in the process.
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