The saga of the Supremes formed much of the story line for the hit musical Dreamgirls.  The musical opened on Broadway in 1981 and won 6 Tony Awards.  Twenty-five years later, in 2006, Dreamgirls was made into a popular film starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, and (fresh from finishing as a finalist on American Idol) Jennifer Hudson.  At $80 million, Dreamgirls is the most expensive film ever to feature an all–African-American starring cast.  

Dreamgirls created drama at the Oscars that year to match what was being portrayed on the screen.  Despite not being nominated for Best Director or Best Picture (or any nominations for Best Actor or Best Actress either, for that matter), Dreamgirls had the most Academy Award nominations in 2007 with eight – a first at the Academy Awards.  In a rare feat for an actor in a debut role, Jennifer Hudson was named Best Supporting Actress, but Eddie Murphy’s loss to Alan Arkin (for his role in the quirky and delightful comedy Little Miss Sunshine) as Best Supporting Actor was regarded as an upset.  Three of the songs from Dreamgirls were nominated for Best Song, but they also lost out to the Melissa Etheridge song “I Need to Wake Up” from the Al Gore documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth.  

It was a different story at the Golden Globes, where both Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy won in their categories, and Dreamgirls took the award for Best Picture – Comedy or Musical; Beyoncé Knowles was also nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.  

(April 2015/1)