Archive for March, 2007
A Story of Two Jennifers
While channel surfing, I happened to catch the video for “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson on one of the MTV channels. I paused to watch as I have read tons of press about the controversy surrounding the Dreamgirls film. If you’re unaware, the controversy concerns several aspects:
- Diana Ross feeling as if the story ripped off her story
- Berry Gordy feeling as if the film depicted himself Motown in a bad light
- The Supremes praising the story for being “fairly accurate” of their strife in the group
- The original Dreamgirls (the Broadway version) feeling left out of the film adaptation
- Jennifer Holiday feeling as if her legacy is endangered
Those are the main lightening bolts of controversy, all of them probably containing more than a grain of truth to them; however, I want to touch on that last point. Jennifer Holiday is the originator of the role of Effie White, played by Hudson in the Dreamgirls film. The song “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” is Holiday’s signature song – not only in the play but in musical her career as well. There was some chatter that Holiday was unhappy about the studio behind the Dreamgirls film using her version of the song in trailers. If I were Holiday, I’d have reason to feel that way, considering the studio left her out of the film adaptation. Because Holiday’s version was used, some even speculated if Hudson could sing “And I’m Telling You…” live since she never performed the song on TV appearances. Well, I never got around to seeing Dreamgirls in the movies: didn’t appeal to me. So, when I landed on a MTV channel, I decided to take a listen at Hudson’s version of “And I’m Telling You…”
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