For a movie about singing, Dreamgirls is surprisingly shy about also being a musical. Following the highs and lows of a fictional singing trio modeled on The Supremes, the movie spends almost an hour building up steam with musical numbers that are justified by audiences and nearby pianos before the training wheels finally come off. Newcomer Jennifer Hudson does the honors, belting out the first a cappella notes -- "What about me?" -- intended as communication, not entertainment. Hudson plays Effie White, instantly recognizable to us as the singing engine behind her group, The Dreams, even before she sings those notes. Her moderately plus-sized figure would likely preclude her from being part of the group otherwise. The story of Effie and The Dreams will be set in motion when a used-car salesman of a manager, in the form of Jamie Foxx, intrudes on the unsuccessful threesome and begins pouring honey into the ear of the group's honey, Deena, played by Beyonce Knowles. He wants to make Deena a star. If the other Dreams come along for the ride, great.

Dreamgirls is a 'rise and fall' story almost as old as music itself, but it gets a pass for dusting off the musical genre with some inspired performances, including the centerpiece, in which poor Effie is rounded on and attacked for not bowing down and stepping aside in favor of the prettier Deena. She fights back with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" a wail in the key of pissed-off, as raw and throaty as its title demands. It's so emotional that it eventually descends into some unfortunate American Idol-style theatrics, but since the house is already flattened by that point, it hardly matters. If Hudson has the ability to funnel the closed-fist passion she brings to this role into serious dramatic fare, then we have a new star. Dreamgirls is not the role that will test her, though. It's too much of a comfort zone, and the film itself is not brave. If it really wanted to stun us into silence with its originality, it would have Danny Glover bust out a tune or two.

Broadway will give High Fidelity the boot after only a tiny ten-day run, as the show will close its theatre doors on Sunday, December 17 after receiving bland reviews and crippling box office sales. The play was adapted from its most original form -- a novel written by Nick Hornby --then turned into a film back in 2000. The film, unlike the musical, received rave reviews and big box office sales that subsequently helped it take home a lot more than its production costs -- especially honorable for being an independent film. High Fidelity (the film, not the musical)stars heavyweights John Cusack and Jack Black; story revolves around a music snob and record store owner who struggles with his life's top five breakups (women, not bands). He spends the film relating periods of his life back to the musical greats and figuring out the universal human crisis of what is love and where is ones place in it.

High Fidelity is probably one of my favorite films of all time -- actually, as you read this, it's sitting in my DVD player. In fact, I may even turn it on for inspiration. When I heard awhile back that they were making a musical about it, I had mixed emotions. First of all -- I hate musicals. I hate them. The only musical that I do enjoy is Cabaret. I'm convinced that in order for me to enjoy a musical the actors have to be in their underwear -- not any underwear, mind you -- but underwear circa the 1930s. Then it also has to involve the Holocaust. I've tried others. I saw Rent. Hated it. I saw Boy from Oz. I don't even want to talk about it. Musicals and I simply do not mix.

The one glimmer of hope for me was the film's already incredible soundtrack. If they were somehow able to incorporate what was already done music-wise in the film to the stage then maybe I would have liked it.

Well, if High Fidelity were to stay open longer then I would have probably made an attempt to see it during my trip back to New York. But Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller -- producers of High Fidelity: The Musical -- saved me from my abusive relationship with such theatre productions. I'll simply have to wait until its revival pops up somewhere in Los Angeles ... where theatre is even better.

Just by watching the trailer for Factory Girl, I gathered that Hayden Christensen's character is supposed to represent Bob Dylan. He's got the voice, the look and the harmonica. Sure, the character has a different name, and the film's producers are insisting that it is actually a composite of Dylan, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison, but as played and depicted, it is as obviously specific as it gets. The whole thing makes me think of Velvet Goldmine, which featured Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ewan McGregor blatantly portraying David Bowie and Iggy Pop, respectively, without the film's use of real names. But that film had no intention of being passed as a true story, unlike Factory Girl, a biopic that otherwise represents real people by name. Velvet Goldmine also didn't implicate any of its characters as being responsible for a person's death.

Dylan is no idiot, and he isn't about to let a movie indirectly accuse him of being the cause of Edie Sedgwick's suicide. According to the NY Post's Page Six column, he's prepared to take legal action; lawyers have already begun proceedings by demanding they see the film before anymore screenings are held. Though the case isn't yet involving the courts, if Factory Girl producers Bob Yari and Holly Wiersma don't comply with the missive issued them, things might get ugly.

Dylan is reportedly very concerned about how the film will affect his image. And he should be. As if the trailer wasn't enough, it is being noted that people who've seen the film say that it is unmistakably Dylan being portrayed. Plus, there's the matter that the original script had the character named Bob Dylan before it was changed to the fictionalized "Billy Quinn" (or is it "Danny Quinn"?).

This legal matter adds to a very long list of controversy surrounding Factory Girl, including a lawsuit over distribution rights and a complaint from the literally depicted Lou Reed.


[via Hollywood Wiretap]

In the ever-apologetic tradition of honorary and lifetime achievement Oscars, composer Ennio Morricone will receive an Academy Award on February 25. It is hard to believe that one of the most-recognized names in film scoring has never been graced with an Oscar before. He's been nominated, sure -- five times to be exact (for Days of Heaven, The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy and Malèna) -- but he's never won.

Morricone shouldn't be bitter about losing those five times, especially considering he lost to other greats (Moroder, Hancock, Byrne, Menken and Dun). It should be a big enough lifetime honor for him to know that people around the world regularly hum, whistle or howl along to his theme to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. But in 2001 the composer told The Guardian, "if it was up to me, every two years I would win an Oscar." In the same interview, Morricone did express some bitterness with not winning for The Mission, stating that Hancock's score for Round Midnight was not technically original.

Ennio Morricone has scored more than 350 films and not all of them are masterpieces. He has been nominated twice for Razzie awards (for Butterfly and The Thing) and he even considers his score to A Fistful of Dollars to be his worst. But the 78-year-old is certainly deserving of recognition for his contributions to cinema. Other important scores of his include Cinema Paradiso, The Battle of Algiers and Once Upon a Time in America, which supposedly wasn't considered by the Academy because of an unfulfilled paperwork requirement.

The celebration of Morricone's music on Oscar night should make for an enjoyable program, and not just because his scores will be heard. Morricone seems via interviews to be an honest and, reportedly, grumpy old man, and he will hopefully have some interesting things to say in his acceptance speech.

If you've been around a while, Rick James is the Super Freak to you, or maybe you even remember him during his AWOL days in Toronto as Ricky Matthews. If you're younger, you probably remember the immortal words spoken by Dave Chappelle, "I'm Rick James, bitch!" (A phrase James apparently used during that period -- and you thought Chappelle's Show was all fiction!) In February, Martha Fischer shared an article on Terrance Howard that said he was in talks to star as Mr. James. While I don't know if this is the same movie, there is definitely a super-freaky film in the works.

Variety has reported that Sheldon Turner, writer of The Longest Yard and Magneto, the X-Men spin-off, will pen the script, which will be produced by Jennifer Klein. The pair acquired the rights to an unpublished manuscript that James wrote about his life, before he passed away in 2004, that they plan to publish when the film comes out. They've also secured the rights to his music -- really, what would the film be without that very kinky girl? According to Turner, it will not be a "typical rags-to-riches-to-drugs music biopic," and instead will follow James' partying and feuding. In that case, this might just be the most fun biopic ever. When was the last time we had a film based on a musician that wasn't fuelled by drama?

Whatever happened to Saturday night? It's back, as The Rocky Horror Picture Show returns to the Bay Area after a five-year absence. Regularly scheduled midnight showings will begin this month at the Clay Theater in San Francisco and in January at Landmark's Guild Theater in Menlo Park, according to a press release issued by Landmark Theaters.

The live performance group Bawdy Caste will be accompanying screenings at both theaters, combining the theatrical and the cinematical with their on-stage antics.

Made in 1975 by director Jim Sharman, the film is a rock musical about a transsexual from Transylvania (Tim Curry) who sexually awakens two stranded teenage travelers, Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon). Pop star Meat Loaf also appears. The film fit perfectly into the midnight movie phenomenon of the early 1970s, begun by films such as El Topo, The Harder They Come and Pink Flamingos. But Rocky Horror became a phenomenon all its own, inspiring an entire subculture.

The film has not shown in San Francisco in some ten years. Much has changed since then, including the film's release on DVD, the rise of the internet and the official Rocky Horror fan page. Here, viewers can learn all the call-and-response cues at which to shout out one-liners ("Say It!"; "Not Meat Loaf again," etc.) or hurl props (rice, newspapers, paper plates, etc.). But any true fan would warn that the only way to see it is live, in the theater.

I'm already shivering with aniticip... ("SAY IT!!!")... ation.

I am one of the world's worst gift wrappers. People look at the presents I give them, and ask if I let my niece or nephew wrap the gift for me. I admit I can't be bothered to spend a lot of time getting the ribbons to curl just so, and to make sure that the wrapping paper fits the present size before I start cutting it out. Over the years, I've learned to rely a lot on gift bags, which are reusable (good for the environment) and look very smart with some tissue paper and perhaps a little raffia used to attach the gift tag. The gift bags were also good for quick last-minute wrapping during the years when I used to take the plane to my parents' house for the holidays, because wrapped gifts aren't allowed on flights.

A big reason why my gift wrapping isn't fabulous, however, is that I don't pay much attention. I'm very fond of putting on a movie in the background while I'm wrapping presents. The idea is that the movie should be something I've seen before, so I am not tempted to put down the scissors and ribbons and watch closely. It's also nice to watch a movie with a holiday theme, to get me in the right spirit for all that gift wrapping.

Therefore, I've put together a list of seven movies that are my favorites for background watching while wrapping presents during the holiday season. Many of them are on TV during the holiday season, so if you're stuck in the back bedroom of someone else's house on Christmas Eve, frantically wrapping before anyone comes in to see what you're giving them, you might be able to find one of these movies on cable (Turner Classic Movies especially).

Yes, the critics from around the country want you to know which films they think were the best of 2006 -- and, while there aren't too many surprises, those folks from Washington, DC tossed out a couple of interesting picks, ones that may or may not affect the Oscar race. With their fifth annual awards ceremony, the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) named Paul Greengrass' United 93 the best film of 2006. As United 93, as well as Greengrass himself, show up on more and more lists, it's becoming clear which 9/11-related film will be in the hunt this year. It's definitely a slick choice, one that might help the film land a spot in the Best Picture race at the Academy Awards.

Jennifer Hudson continues to impress everyone around the country, despite the fact that Dreamgirls hasn't opened in theaters yet, as the former American Idol star was a two-time winner (Best Supporting Actress, Best Breakthrough Performance) in D.C. Not surprisingly, Helen Mirren was named Best Actress for her performance in The Queen, and Forest Whitaker took Best Actor for The Last Kind of Scotland. Perhaps the most surprising moves were in naming Djimon Hounsou Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond, as well as giving two first-time scribes (Michael Arndt, Jason Reitman) the screenplay honors (Little Miss Sunshine for original, Thank You for Smoking for adapted). In my opinion (and I never thought I'd be saying this), the year's most enjoyable and exciting races will exist in the screenwriting categories -- with Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen, Babel and United 93 duking it out for Best Original Screenplay and films like The Departed, Dreamgirls and Little Children fighting over Best Adapted Screenplay. Needless to say, it shall be fun to watch.

A full list of D.C. critic's picks is waiting for you after the jump.

On January 23, in just a little more than a month, the Academy will announce its nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Among the anxious will be the original song competitors -- 56 songs competing for the 3-5 available spots. We've covered how many great songs have failed to meet the Academy's requirements. The words and music of the song have to be written specifically for the film, and a clear rendition has to appear in the film, or as the lead song in the credits. It's all about originality.

You might think that the selection of the top contenders would be a long process. There are a ton of songs to choose from, with lyrics to examine, and relevance and quality to consider. That's not the case. Only one week earlier, on January 16, voters in New York City and Beverly Hills will sit down and view clips of each song in random order, and then vote on their choices once the screenings are over. I hope that the voters are already familiar with the songs and films, because a clip of each song, whether as part of a film clip or not, are just that -- a piece.

While the collection of songs are diverse, I think it will be fairly easy to pick out a few of the sure contenders. Both Dreamgirls and Over the Hedge scored 3 cracks at a spot. And to keep things fresh, Borat's O Kazakhstan is also in the mix. Personally, I'm curious to hear the Rocky Balboa song, It's a Fight, because it has some big shoes to fill. The Hollywood Reporter has a full list of songs. Out of the 56, which do you think should make the top 5?

More people have signed on to star in more movies. Check it out:

• Even though Idlewild wasn't received as warmly as he would have liked, that's not stopping Outkast's André Benjamin from seeking out additional material. The actor-musician is in final negotiations to star alongside Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in Semi-Pro -- ya know, the Ferrell basketball flick we've mentioned before. Benjamin would join Harrelson as a player on the fictional ABA team (Flint, Michigan Tropics) that Ferrell coaches. How will this one stack up against Ferrell's other sports-related comedies? Well, Jon Heder isn't it -- so it's definitely got that going for it.
• So I'm kind of digging the cast of Sweeney Todd so far, what with Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter already attached to star. Though I missed the staged musical version when it was on Broadway, the premise seems tasty enough -- and I'm certainly looking forward to Tim Burton's take on the movie-musical genre. Add to that the recent signing of Alan Rickman (who is set to play Judge Turpin, the man responsible for throwing Todd in prison causing him to lose his family and return for revenge) and we may have a gem in the making. Rickman is always great as the villain -- in my opinion, I wouldn't mind watching him star as the bad guy in every film. Can we make that happen? Please?
• What's up with this film Finding Amanda? Matthew Broderick plays an alcoholic gambler who's also a television producer, and he must travel to Las Vegas in order to convince his niece, a stripper-hooker, to go into rehab? Are they serious? It's like Leaving Las Vegas, only with Ferris Bueller. Needless to say, the filmmakers have finally found their Amanda -- and it's not Evan Rachel Wood, as previously reported. Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die) has, instead, decided to take on the role. And you know what rhymes with 'snow,' right? Pic begins shooting early next month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

One of my favorite moments from the film Boogie Nights is when John C. Reilly and Mark Wahlberg are in the recording studio trying to throw together a hot single. They're all hopped up on whatever, and in their minds they're creating the greatest song in history. After watching Reilly in that film, he instantly became one of my favorite actors at the time ... and still is. (I won't go into why I'm totally furious over the fact that the man wasn't nominated for a best supporting Oscar for Boogie, but obviously someone had their head up their ass that year.)

Since Boogie, the man has been in a slew of films (his roles in Chicago, The Good Girl, Gangs of New York and Talladega Nights were all fine performances), but I'm still waiting for him to take on another memorable character -- one that sticks with me the way Reed Rothchild did (okay, that sounded a bit weird). Reilly will next be starring in Walk Hard which -- get this -- will spoof all of those recent musician biographies that have flooded the scene, as well the past few Oscar ceremonies. Now, before you scream out, "Man, I hate those f**king spoof movies, they all suck," do keep in mind this particular film will not be coming from four of the twelve writers of Scary Movie. Oh no, the script was co-written by Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow, with Kasdan taking on directing duties. If you're looking for a connection between the two writers -- both of them penned episodes of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared back in the day. Kasdan went on to direct Orange County, as well as the upcoming The TV Set and Apatow, well, is the genius behind The 40 Year Old Virgin. Feel better now?

When we first reported on this film back in August, there was no word on a start date. Well, now we're happy to inform you the pic will begin shooting sooner than expected -- this January -- and so there's a good chance it will arrive in theaters late next year. In Walk Hard, Reilly will play the fictitious music legend Dewey Cox. The character is a cross between Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings and, in case you were wondering, Reilly will be performing all of the songs himself. Okay, I'm officially hooked -- who's with me?

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we last brought you our last 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, but the holiday season is looming large once again. So, once again, we here at the Cinematical workshop will be banging out Cinematicalmas posts for your holiday reading pleasure. Check back often throughout the month for our genre gift-buying guides for your favorite film geeks, roundups of our fave holiday movies, and of course, our end-of-year best (and worst!) lists.

Coming your way in January, we'll be ringing in the New Year with our traditional Oscar and Golden Globes predicting and pontificating, and of course we'll be all over Sundance with more reviews, interviews, and the Sundance scene. Happy holidays!

There still seems to be no official press release regarding Don Cheadle's involvement in a Miles Davis biopic, but TMZ is reporting that not only is the actor confirmed to star as the jazz trumpet legend, but he will be directing the film, as well. Erik told us back in March about the project, but at that time it was thought that Sony Pictures would be involved and that Antoine Fuqua might be interested in directing it. Then, just a few weeks ago, Jessica mentioned that there are in fact two competing Davis pics.

Apparently, the main setback in getting this project started was securing music rights. That is where Sony ended up being involved, as producer Cary Brokaw went to the studio, which released his last two pictures, as a go-between in dealing with Davis' Columbia Records catalog (Sony Pictures and Columbia Records are owned by the same conglomerate). But the film will not be produced by the studio; Brokaw will reportedly be financing it independently. I predict, however, that in the end it will be distributed by Sony Classics.

Writing the screenplay for the bio are Chris Wilkinson and Steve Rivele, the Oscar-nominated duo behind other biopics, such as Nixon, Ali, Copying Beethoven and an upcoming film about Jackie Robinson. Depending on Cheadle's talent as a director -- we will see his handiwork first with next year's Tishomingo Blues --- he could very well go on to win an Oscar (or two!) for this project. We already know that he's an amazing actor and that the Academy loves biographical roles, so this is obviously a film that should generate buzz even before the thing has its first day of shooting.

The above photo symbolizes the way I always picture actress Deanna Durbin: a young girl standing very straight and singing her little heart out. This photo is from the 1937 film One Hundred Men and a Girl, in which Durbin persuades conductor Leopold Stokowski to lead a large symphony orchestra performance that will somehow save her musician father's career. I haven't seen the film -- few of the Durbin movies are available on DVD in this country -- but it also stars Adolphe Menjou as her dad, and the supporting cast includes some of the best character actors of the Thirties: Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Mischa Auer (hey, weren't they all in My Man Godfrey?).

Deanna Durbin was born on this day in 1921, and the Canadian actress and singer is still alive today, although she has granted very few interviews in the past half-century. She and Judy Garland appeared together in a 1936 short film for MGM, Every Sunday, and then their respective careers took off. MGM let go of Durbin, who went to Universal ... and the success of her first feature, Three Smart Girls (which is available on DVD), is often credited with saving the studio from serious financial difficulties. Durbin starred in a long string of musicals where she was the young woman who fixed everyone's problems, romantic or financial or whatnot, by the end of the film. While Garland was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for MGM, Durbin was singing an aria from La Traviata (in One Hundred Men and a Girl). Durbin was extremely popular in her day, and albums of her vocal performances sold like hotcakes, as well as Deanna dolls for little girls. Eventually her stock character was allowed to grow up and date boys, and even starred in some minor film noir, such as Robert Siodmak's Christmas Holiday in 1944 (with Gene Kelly, oddly enough).

Durbin's last film was For the Love of Mary, in 1948. She was still a film star, but disliked the public life of a celebrity. After marrying her third husband and moving to Paris, she retired entirely from acting and distanced herself from Hollywood and filmmaking as much as possible. Now how often does that happen?

I think we might have officially hit the saturation point with musician biopics, but Lionsgate seems to think there is room for one more. Variety announced that Lionsgate Films have joined with Gospel music star Kirk Franklin for the film version of his autobiography Church Boy.

The film will be co-produced with Franklin's Fo Yo Soul Entertainment; the company also includes a record label and youth ministry. Lionsgate's production rep stated that they had been looking to expand what they called "faith-based" properties. Franklin's film will be based on his experiences as a troubled youth, his religious conversion, and finally his success as a modern gospel artist. Franklin blended Gospel music with elements of hip-hop and R&B to become a platinum selling artist. It would appear that Franklin is truly a solo act as he will not only produce and star in the film, but he also plans on composing the soundtrack. Lionsgate Music Publishing has put a deal in place with Franklin for the music for the film.

Since Franklin looks to be busy for the next little while, the film is probably a long way off from production. Until then we can add Franklin to the list of Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, and Brian Wilson for biopics trying to cash in on a little Ray-style success.