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Overweight actress steals show
06/12/2006 10:58 - (SA)
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| Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Beyonce Knowles at the New York premiere of Dreamgirls. (Paul Hawthorne, AP) |
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New York - The movie adaptation of the
famed Broadway musical Dreamgirls stars Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, chart-topping singer Beyonce Knowles and long-time favourite Eddie Murphy.
But in true show business tradition, an overweight unknown
more used to failure than success is stealing the show.
"It's the biggest honour I could possibly get. I'm so
grateful," Jennifer Hudson says of the buzz that she may win an
Oscar for her Cinderella turn in the role of Effie White.
"I'm so grateful. All I wanted was the part, and to hear
this now? It's very exciting," the actress and singer said.
If Hudson is surprised by the talk of an Oscar, it's
because her resume was rather thin: She is a college drop-out
with six months' experience singing on a cruise ship who later
reached a mere seventh place on the TV audition show American
Idol.
Now her silver screen debut has already won her fans even
before the movie opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 15
and nationwide on December 25. At media screenings, the press have greeted Hudson's performance with whooping applause.
Her biggest ovation comes during her rendition of And I Am
Telling You I'm Not Going - the emotional show stopper in the
original 1981 Broadway show, which won six Tony Awards.
The New York Observer described her performance of that
song as "five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes that have
suddenly catapulted Ms. Hudson ... into the position of
front-runner for the best supporting actress Oscar".
Newsweek said that when moviegoers hear Hudson sing the
song, she "is going to raise goose bumps across the land".
The movie tells the story of a group of black female
singers and is loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and The
Supremes and the Motown record company. Hudson's part is that
of the hefty, difficult singer in the trio.
'Best piece of casting'
Hudson credits her voice to her Baptist upbringing in
Chicago, where she belted out songs in church from age 7.
"I used to sing in the church choir," she said. "People would say it was unusual for such a small girl to have such a big voice. They would say, 'She sounds like she's grown.'"
Casting director Jay Binder, known for his work on major
Broadway productions, said he is proud of choosing Hudson.
"It's not like we found her working at the telephone
company, but it's the best piece of casting this office has
ever done," he said.
The part was no slam dunk for Hudson. After her first
audition, Binder told her he liked her but said while she could
make it on Broadway, she would have to lose some weight and
work on her image if she were to make it in Hollywood.
"She was not as glamorous as we needed her to be. She
needed to develop her figure in a more pleasing way," Binder
said. "We then went on, over the next six months, to see every
African-American woman of a certain age on both coasts."
After a nationwide search, countless auditions and
open-casting calls failed to turn up the perfect Effie White,
Binder remembered Hudson and called her back.
"When she came back six months later she was absolutely
gorgeous. She was not a girl but a woman," he said. "Without a
question, it was her part. Whatever she had done, she now had
sex appeal and was more comfortable in herself."
Now as Hudson promotes Dreamgirls and is preparing to
record an album for legendary recording executive Clive Davis,
who made stars of the likes of Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys,
she's finding all the attention a little hard to believe.
"I have to pinch myself," she said. "Am I really doing
interviews? Is this really happening? Even on the movie set, I
was stopping and asking myself, 'Am I dreaming?'"
- Reuters
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