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Oscar Worthy Gadgets: Microphones in Dreamgirls

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:00:31 -0800

One of my favorite things about historical dramas is that there are often a handful of bloopers that only the discerning (or really geeky) eye can catch. Considering the other techie mistakes in the film - the lip-syncing is off during some verses of "It's All Over" and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - I thought someone in the tech department might have been asleep at the wheel when it came to using the right microphones for the time period. My sources tell me this is not the case. Apparently, the movie featured an Electro-Voice from the '50s and early '60s and an old Neumann mic, which among others was perfectly accurate for the time.

Electro-Voice received a special citation at the end of WWII for the development of the T-45 lip microphone and even won an Academy Award in 1963 for its advances in the world of film sound. Those famous photos of Elvis Presley show him performing with one of the Electro-Voice's best models. For more photos from the film and a gadget goof, read more

Gadget goof: During a 1965 press conference in the film one of the photographers is shown taking pictures of the Dreams using a Nikon camera, which was not sold until the late 1980s. I guess you can't get everything right.

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The Men in Jennifer Hudson's Life

PopSugar — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:38:04 -0800

Remember when Dreamgirls was known as that movie with Beyonce? Well the tide has definitely turned as Jennifer Hudson has risen to stardom. As the Oscars rapidly approach, the buzz surrounding her is louder than ever. In Life magazine, Jennifer talks about her challenging rise to fame and the men who helped her along the way. Here are highlights:

It was while watching an episode of the '90s Will Smith sitcom that she first heard "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," Dreamgirls’ signature song. "Will was lip-synching to it, and I was like, 'Who is that singing? I have to sing that song.' I never would have guessed. . . ."

"My boyfriend, James [Peyton, who is 27], and I have been together since 1999, so he watched me struggle to get here. There were some dark times when I'd say, 'I can't sing anymore. I'm not right for this.' He'd say, 'Jennifer, there's no way you're not singing. Keep it up, girl, keep it up.' "

"[After filming, costar] Jamie Foxx would call me every Sunday and say 'I’ve been down the same road you’re going down.' And I’d say, 'Me? No way.' And he’d say, 'Yeah, you’re gonna be there-the Golden Globes, the Oscars.' It’s so great to have somebody to lean on when things are changing so fast. He's my lifesaver."

Hmm. I must've missed that episode of Fresh Prince. We're glad that Jennifer has such great men to stand behind her and it looks like she may have a golden man standing on her mantel soon too. For more pics from Jennifer's photo shoot, just read more

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Will the Academy Choose Jennifer Hudson?

PopSugar — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:07:38 -0800

Jennifer Hudson looks pretty happy as she blows lots of kisses at a Dreamgirls' Press Conference in Tokyo. We don't blame her - the girl has tons to smile about. She's racked up a slew of awards for her role as Effie. In fact, it seems as if she hasn't lost at an awards show yet. We can't wait to see if the Academy will follow suit. She's already come so far since American Idol, but winning an Oscar would really be the icing on the cake of Jennifer's Cinderella story.

Don't forget to cast your Oscar ballot to win some awesome prizes and stay tuned for more pre-Oscar fun! For more pics of Jennifer, just read more

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Oscar Nominee: Dreamgirls for Art Direction

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:18:35 -0800

Every week up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. In this final week, I'll be looking at the nominees for best art direction, which encompasses the entire look and feel of a film from the scenery to the lighting. Yesterday, we saw a gallery from Pan's Labyrinth, and today's featured movie is Dreamgirls.

For this film, the art director and set designer were charged with translating a stage musical into a big-screen extravaganza without losing that bright-lights glitz. In addition, the filmmakers had to create an appropriately retro environment. To see what they came up with, read more

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Photos courtesy of Paramount

Oscar Nominee: Dreamgirls for Best Costumes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:30:11 -0800

Every week up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. Last week, I started with cinematography, and this week I'll be looking at the nominees for best costumes.

Yesterday, we checked out the the highly coveted wardrobe of The Devil Wears Prada, and today's featured movie is Dreamgirls. For this musical saga of a fictional Motown group, costume designer Sharen Davis (who also received an Oscar nomination for Ray) had to dream up ostentatious but authentic-looking fashions as the characters went through countless costume changes both on stage and off. To see a gallery of fashion from Dreamgirls, read more

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Photos courtesy of Paramount

Oscar Noms Announced, Dreamgirls, Babel Score Big

Molly — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:10:55 -0800

The nominations for the 75th Academy Awards were announced this morning in Los Angeles by Salma Hayek and Sid Ganis. Dreamgirls scored the most nominations with eight, but was shut out of the Best Picture category (Beyonce was also passed over). Babel came in with seven nominations, and while it scored two acting noms, some of its actors, most notably Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett who many thought were shoo-ins, were also left out. Blanchett did earn a Supporting Actress nod for her work in Notes On a Scandal. The nominees in some of the major categories are:

Best Picture
The Departed
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Queen
Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Best Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel

The full Oscar Nominations list is here. So what do you guys think? Who got snubbed? Who are you excited to see on the list? Who can't you wait to see walk the red carpet?

For more of sexy Salma announcing the awards just read more

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Dreamgirls Premiere in London

PopSugar — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 08:53:28 -0800

The Dreamgirls shined once again at their premiere in London this weekend. Beyonce went for a shimmery silver strapless Elie Saab gown despite the freezing cold winter weather. She said, "I'm not wearing it for long and it's worth the pain." Like us, Beyonce is excited for tomorrow's Oscar nominations. She said, "I can't wait to hear what's going to happen with the Oscars. I'm happy already." Who do you think will will score a nomination tomorrow?

For more pics of the Dreamgirls showing off in London just read more

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