'DREAMGIRLS' AN OSCAR FRONTRUNNER, COMPETING WITH EASTWOOD PIC AT PAR (ENV, HE)

By TomTapp

The Envelope's Tom O'Neil is calling "Dreamgirls' " Jennifer Hudson "the frontrunner for the supporting actress Oscar" this morning. And the buzz around town seems to confirm it, after Hudson's been wowing test audiences as well as the HFPA at a clipshow and performance Monday. The film itself also has huge heat.

O'Neil:

Since the scene is the romantic heart and musical soul of a beloved Tonys contender-turned-Oscar-best-picture frontrunner, the pressure was on the "American Idol" cast-off hired to portray "The Dreams'" cast-off "Effie" when David Geffen nixed the casting of "Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino. Geffen's bully move turned out to be the salvation of "Dreamgirls" considering how magnificent Hudson is in the role. A test-screening audience not only went crazy for the pic recently in San Diego, but viewers went utterly bonkers over Hudson. Now she can laugh off her loss on "American Idol." All early buzz indicates that "Dreamgirls" is about to transform Hudson into a superstar. Already, she's the frontrunner for the supporting-actress Oscar. Actually, it's surprising she's not a frontrunner for best actress considering Holliday beat her costar Sheryl Lee Ralph (who portrayed Deena) for the top acting honor at the Tonys, but studio chiefs plan to separate the film Dreamdivas at the Oscars, demoting Hudson to supporting because Beyonce has more screen time. And, well, probably just because she's Beyonce. But how ironic considering that's exactly what Beyonce's character does to Hudson's in the "Dreamgirls" story: knocks her out of the lead role!

But humble rookie Hudson seems remarkably cool about all that. "You can imagine how scary and amazing it was to be cast in this movie with giants like Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy," she told me last night at a special "Dreamgirls" promo in Los Angeles, "but it was absolutely terrifying when I faced that big stage to perform 'And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going.'

Last night at the "Dreamgirls" promo, Paramount/Dreamworks showed the same 20 minutes of the film that aired at the Cannes Film Festival, plus a discarded trailer, to members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and other media. But no glimpse of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." Not yet. That's the big number producers must save up till the film's December release.

However, the studio did present Jennifer Hudson in person. She wowed the crowd with three musical numbers: a Gladys Knight chestnut ("Where Peaceful Waters Flow"), a "Dreamgirls" standard "One Night Only" plus one of the four new tunes written specifically for the film version � "I Love You, I Do" (to give it four new shots at Oscar noms � old songs don't qualify). Very catchy, very endearing.

Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells says "Dreamgirls' " ascendency may complicate things for DreamWorks and Paramount.

"Dreamgirls" is a passion project of DreamWorks founder David Geffen. But parent studio Paramount has the other big Best Picture contender, Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers."

Says Wells, "I'm all but convinced it's going to come down to a Flags vs. Dreamgirls thing -- a mano e mano on Melrose Ave."

Excerpts from Wells:

How do I know it'll be Dreamgirls vs. Flags of Our Fathers? I don't as far as Flags is concerned, having only read the script and seen this morning's Japanese combo trailer (i.e., Flags plus Letters from Iwo Jima).

But count on this : (a) the personal-anguish-of-soldiers factor, which Flags is full of top to bottom, is going to resonate to some extent (maybe a large extent) in the hinterlands among the support-our-troops-in-Iraq contingent, and (b) this big-scale tribute to the World War II generation is going to sink in big with boomer-aged Academy members.

And yet when you think about the Flags vs. Dreamgirls competish, it feels like a bit of a muddle because their Oscar campaigns are going to be run by two execs collecting Paramount paychecks -- DreamWorks marketing executive Terry Press and Paramount marketing chief Gerry Rich -- and who will have to split their loyalties and energies in two directions

Flags and Dreamgirls originated as DreamWorks projects, of course, and Press is going to be handling the marketing for both, but she and Rich will be making the Oscar campaign moves -- and this may look to some like an operation at cross purposes.

Press listened to my questions and declined official comment, but let's look at this situation as best we can.

One, there's a huge influx of Miramax and DreamWorks marketing veterans on the Paramount lot these days, and these people know their way around the Academy rodeo. Paramount is a studio, remember, that hasn't been in a major Oscar campaign since Titanic, which was nine years ago.

Two, there's no Paramount logo on the Flags of our Fathers one-sheet. Think about that.

And three, Warner Bros. is is the international distibutor and co-financier of Flags of our Fathers, and Warner Bros. will be the the domestic distributor of Letters From Iwo Jima...so there's that element to consider.

If it comes down to a Flags vs. Dreamgirls standoff, the ideal situation, of course, would be for Press and Rich to push both with equal vigor. Press is a pro and will naturally strive to do that. She seems to be making the right moves by hiring outside Oscar campaign consultants for both films -- Amanda Lundberg for Dreamgirls and a not-yet-finalized hire for for Flags.

But one studio insider who also knows his way around the racetrack sees other forces at work.

"It's really not Terry Press making the call here," he said. "This is about Spielberg and Katzenberg and Geffen...this is Geffen's movie, Dreamgirls...and it's about how these guys are joined in the planning the future of this studio. Dreamgirls is going to get the big push -- it's a non-contest.

"And I think Eastwood knows that, and I'm not so sure he even cares about playing this game at this stage in his life. But look at the power DreamWorks has at Para- mount these days, and you have to consider the hard reality, which is that from the DreamWorks/Paramount perspective, Clint is a 76 year-old director who's basically a Warner Bros. guy on hiatus."

The other strategist says "the reality is not Clint's age but the fact that he's won twice" -- i.e., Best Picture Oscars for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby -- "and that he won last year."

'DREAMGIRLS' AN OSCAR FRONTRUNNER, COMPETING WITH EASTWOOD PIC AT PAR (ENV, HE)

By TomTapp

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