Bio-pic Era Does the unrealistic aspect of musicals attract you to them, or sometimes put you off? How do you feel about ensembles singing in unison and dancing to the same choreography? Does the lack of reality prevent you from forming an emotional connection with the characters, or is the connection heightened? Answer at: https://pollev.com/pldfilmstudi835 OR text PLDFILMSTUDI835 to to join the session, then text a response. hooper-on-the-magic-of-les-miserables Listen to the NPR interview by Les Miserables director, Tom Hopper. Then read The Uncompromising Realism of Musicals Make a T chart on your desk with an expo marker: examine claims and counter claims of realism in musical film. After the success in the early 2000s with dark themed musicals, the genre began to boom. Studios recognized the largest complaint to musical movies was realism. Gone were the days of the Fred Astaire, Julie Andrews, happy-go-lucky musicals. The new millennium called for a darker tone, with higher production, and realism. From this conversation came a series of Jukebox musicals and bio-pics. A jukebox musical is a stage or film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its musical score. Usually the songs have in common a connection with a particular popular musician or group because they were either written by, or for, the artists in question, or at least covered by them. The songs are contextualized into a dramatic plot: often the biographical story of the performer(s) whose music is featured, although in some cases the plot does not revolve around the particular group at all. Although jukebox musicals had achieved success for years (for instance Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story), their recent surge in popularity was led by the success of Mamma Mia!, built around the music of ABBA. Why do you think Jukebox and Bio-pic musicals have become so popular in the 21 st century? Many forget that animated musicals fall under the musical movie umbrella. Do you classify this as a different thing? How are they/are they not different? What is your favorite type of musical film and why? Character: Photogenic singer Deena Jones (Beyonc Knowles) Real-life counterpart: Diana Ross Backstory: The Supremes initially rotated lead vocal duties - Florence Ballard sang the R&B, Mary Wilson took the ballads, and Ross handled the mainstream pop songs. In 1964, Gordy made Ross lead singer, believing that her higher register and good looks would give the group its greatest chance for top 40 success. (Gordy was also romantically involved with Ross at the time.) The Supremes went on to record 12 No. 1 hits. Diana Ross is long a critic of the Broadway version of Dreamgirls for what she saw as an appropriation of her life story. Claims to have never seen the movie. The line in the movie that sums up the switch: "Do you know why I chose you to sing lead?" Taylor asks Deena. "Because your voice has no personality, no depth, only what I put in there. Character: Manipulative music biz honcho Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) Real-life counterpart: Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. Backstory: Gordy carefully maintained artists' public image, typically squelching individual expression in favor of the Motown sound. He fathered a child with Supremes lead singer Diana Ross. Foxx on the character: "Curtis is the person who delivers the dream, but he can't execute himself. I know he was supposed to be designed on Berry Gordy, but to me, he's a combination of all the record executives I've met over the years. Some of them are in your face, some are laid-back. It's the laid-back ones who will really succeed over the long haul. Character: Soulful singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) Real-life counterpart: Florence Ballard Backstory: Ballard hit the bottle after Gordy made Ross lead singer. Gordy fired her in Ballard eventually fell into debt and obscurity, making a brief comeback in 1975 before dying of coronary thrombosis at the age of 32. She never reunites with The Supremes. Effie's voice: While the character was clearly modeled on Ballard, Hudson says the singing style is pure Aretha Franklin. "That's who I patterned my voice after. That wonderful, soulful, full-of-conviction voice." Character: Make-no-waves singer Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) Real-life counterpart: Mary Wilson Backstory: Stayed with The Supremes after Ross left in 1970, and until the group dissolved in Titled 1986 biography with a nod to the musical: "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme. Has commented that Dreamgirls made her cry and that is is, "closer to the truth than they even know. Character: James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy) Real-life counterpart: Jackie Wilson/James Brown /Marvin Gaye/Tom Jones Backstory: Early mixes the 1950s R&B of Wilson with 1960s soul power of Brown, with results that will be familiar to anyone who saw Murphy's Godfather of Soul sketches on "Saturday Night Live." Later, when Early attempts a social-message record a la Gaye's "What's Going On," he wears the same kind of crocheted hat that Gaye favored at the time. The relationship aspect with Lorrell is based off of Mary Wilsons tumultuous decade long affair with Tom Jones. The connection between the fictional Dreams and the real-life Supremes is underlined by costume designer Sharen Davis, whose magnificent creations accurately echo the outlandish outfits Ross, Wilson and Ballard used to wear. In the movie, the Dreams' album covers look like specific old Supremes albums. The fantastic wigs look right, too. Early's evolution is also marvelously reflected in his changing styles. The slogan for the movie's Rainbow Records ("The Sound of Tomorrow") comes right from the old Motown Records ("The Sound of Young America"). There is even a brief appearance by a group resembling the young Jackson Five. The kind of dance styles employed by R&B acts hardly lend themselves to the choreography commonly found in Broadway productions. Horn players would never run all over the stage as they do in "Dreamgirls" or they would be too out of breath to play the instruments. And gangs of boy dancers are strictly a Broadway convention; the R&B world was far too cash poor to afford such extraneous luxuries. The songs are not previously recorded by The Supremes are criticized as, nowhere close to the Motown sound." The sound is that of Broadway, decorated with a few drumbeats and occasional light disco drive, that stays heavy on narrative subtext, allowing the songs to comment on the story line.