Dreamgirls
is a 2006 American musical film jointly produced and released by DreamWorks
Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show
engagements beginning December 15, 2006, with a nationwide release on
December 25, 2006 and a home video release on May 1, 2007. Dreamgirls won
three awards at the 64th Golden Globe Awards ceremony in 2007, including
Best Picture - Musical or Comedy, and won two Oscars at the 79th Academy
Awards.
A period piece set in the 1960s and 1970s with a primarily African-American
cast, Dreamgirls is adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name.
The musical was based on the history and evolution of American R&B music
during the eras of doo-wop, soul, the Motown Sound, funk, and disco. In
addition, the stage musical contains several allusions to the lives and
careers of Motown Records act The Supremes, a connection the film version
expands upon.[2] Dreamgirls follows the lives of Effie White, Deena Jones,
and Lorrell Robinson, three young women who form an R&B singing trio from
Detroit, Michigan called "The Dreamettes". Thanks to manipulative agent and
record executive Curtis Taylor, Jr., the Dreamettes become famous as the
backing group for soul singer James "Thunder" Early. Conflict arises when
Curtis transforms "The Dreamettes" into the pop-friendly "Dreams,"
particularly when he has Deena replace Effie as both lead singer of the
group and as his romantic interest.
The film adaptation of Dreamgirls, which had been in development at various
times during the 1980s and 1990s, stars Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, and
Eddie Murphy. The film also features Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson, Anika
Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal, and Hinton Battle. Produced by
Laurence Mark, Dreamgirls was written and directed for the screen by Bill
Condon, screenwriter of the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of
Chicago, working from the original Broadway book by Tom Eyen and the
Broadway songs by Eyen and Henry Krieger. Four new songs, composed by
Krieger with various lyricists, were added for this film. Jennifer Hudson,
an American Idol alumna who made her film debut in Dreamgirls, won the 2007
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Effie White.

The
Pink Panther is a 2006 comedy film. It is a reboot of the Pink Panther
series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) is
assigned to solve the murder of a famous football coach and the theft of
the famous Pink Panther diamond. This film also stars Kevin Kline,
Beyoncé Knowles, and Jean Reno.
The film opens with the French
national soccer team’s victory over the Chinese national soccer team,
the murder of French coach Yves Gluant (Jason Statham), and the
disappearance of his Pink Panther diamond ring. Chief Inspector Charles
Dreyfus (Kevin Kline), eager to win the Légion d'honneur (Legion of
Honour; referred to as the "Medal of Honor" in the film), appoints the
"most incompetent policeman" in France, Inspector Jacques Clouseau
(Steve Martin), to the case as a diversion. Dreyfus has assembled a team
of investigators to tackle the mystery in secret, planning to take over
the case and win the Légion d'honneur. Dreyfus appoints Gendarme Gilbert
Ponton (Jean Reno) to report on Clouseau's whereabouts at all times.
Clouseau makes only a little progress at first, bungling one situation
after another. Bizu, a star player who hated Gluant and was the prime
suspect, gets shot in the head. A witness hears him say "Oh, it's you",
so Clouseau tells Ponton to gather all the people in Paris with the name
"You". He interviews an old Cantonese woman and appears not to
understand her (it is revealed later that he understood every word).
While at a casino, with the intent of asking some questions of owner
Raymond Larocque (Gluant's business partner), he encounters British
Agent 006 Nigel Boswell (Clive Owen parodying James Bond). Boswell poses
as Clouseau in order to conceal his identity and stop a robbery by the
notorious Gas Masked Bandits. Thus, Clouseau gets credit for the deed,
much to Dreyfus's annoyance.
Believing that Gluant's girlfriend Xania (Beyoncé Knowles) knows more
than she has revealed, Clouseau follows her to New York City. He tries
to perfect a flawless American accent but has no success (despite hiring
the best dialect coach in the world). Before he can return to France,
his bag is switched by a French agent working for Dreyfus while he waits
in line at airport security. The new bag, which contains several weapons
(including a flail, a pocket knife, a grenade, and a revolver), sets off
the metal detector; after he refuses to empty his pockets, which contain
hamburgers, he is arrested. Clouseau initially tries to tell the airport
staff about the hamburgers, but no one understands his ridiculous
accent. Upon Clouseau's return to France, Dreyfus insults him and strips
him of his inspector rank, preparing to win the case. Based on his
evidence -- that the poison that killed Gluant was derived from Chinese
herbs -- Dreyfus deduces that the killer is a Chinese envoy named Dr.
Pang, whom he plans on arresting at the upcoming Presidential Ball.
Dreyfus orders the event planners to remove Clouseau's name from the
guest list.
Having returned home, Clouseau finds a photo of his arrest on the
Internet. He sees something significant in the photo, and immediately
makes his way to the Élysée Palace with Ponton, where they sneak into
Presidential Ball. They are able to prevent the murder of Xania by
pursuing and capturing the real killer, who turns out to be Yuri, an
ex-Soviet soldier who was the French soccer team's trainer. Clouseau
reveals that the Cantonese woman "reminded" Clouseau that all soccer
trainers must be skilled in Chinese medicine; furthermore, Bizu was shot
in the occipital lobe of the brain, a location that would be known to
Yuri from his training in the Russian military (even though in the film
the shot was actually into the frontal lobe, as the occipital lobe is at
the back of the head). Xania is revealed to have the Pink Panther
diamond, sewn into the lining of her purse. Gluant gave it to her as an
engagement ring just before his death, and she is therefore entitled to
it under French law. Clouseau declares that it was the photo of his
arrest that revealed everything to him. When he enlarged it he saw the
ring in the monitor of the airport's x-ray scanner. Dreyfus makes a
clumsy attempt to take credit, saying his arrest of the Chinese envoy
was a ploy to draw out the real killer. For his success, Clouseau wins
the Medal of Honor.
The
Fighting Temptations is a 2003 comedy film produced by Paramount
Pictures and MTV Films. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and singer Beyonce
Knowles as they attempt to revive a town's choir traditions in a
modern society.
New York City advertising executive Darrin
Hill (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is about to land a big
account, has his life turned upside down when it's revealed that he
has lied about having a college degree. After being fired, his life
is further shaken by being unable to repay his debts. Now on the
run, he is called back to his southern town roots when his aunt
dies. At the reading of the will, he learns he has been asked to
assume the mantle of choir director of his aunt's home church and if
he can get the choir in the Gospel Explosion in Columbus, GA, he
will inherit stock worth $150,000. Unfortunately the choir is not in
very good shape and he has to start recruiting townsfolk, not all of
whom are interested. He also finds himself competing with one of his
mother's friends and sister of the town preacher Paulina Pritchett
(played by LaTanya Richardson) who is secretly scheming to take over
the choir herself and has a grudge against Darrin's mother for not
staying true to her church roots and singing "secular" music. Among
others, he gets three prisoners to join but his biggest coup is
recruiting secular singer Lilly (Beyoncé Knowles) who sings at one
of the local night clubs as his mother did, to join; he also starts
courting her. While Hill's efforts are initially scorned and
resisted, he and Lilly eventually whip the ragtag crew into shape
and win the Explosion-and each other's hearts.
|
+AUSTIN POWERS GOLDMEMBER |

Austin Powers in Goldmember, released in 2002, is the third film
of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title
role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by
Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of
Dr. Evil, Goldmember and Fat Bastard. The movie co-stars Beyoncé
Knowles, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Michael York, Verne Troyer,
Michael Caine and Fred Savage. There are a number of cameo
appearances including Britney Spears, Quincy Jones, Katie
Couric, Nathan Lane and The Osbournes.
In a self-parody of the Austin Powers series, there is a film
within the film. Austin Powers is featured in a bio-pic called
Austinpussy directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise
as Austin Powers, Gwyneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, Kevin Spacey
as Dr. Evil, Danny DeVito as Mini-Me, and John Travolta as
Goldmember.
Goldmember is a loose parody of the James Bond movies Goldfinger
and You Only Live Twice also incorporating elements of the The
Spy Who Loved Me. The film took in approximately $288 million
from movie tickets worldwide.
The movie starts with Austin watching a movie preview starring
Tom Cruise as Austin Powers, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Austin accepts the compliment and goes on his usual dance in the
beginning until he and his group stumble on Britney Spears in
the middle of a music video shoot (for her song "Boys"). Austin
and Britney start a dance off until Britney turns out to be a
fembot when twin machine gun barrels pop out of her leather top.
She tries to kill Austin but fails, and Austin uses his mojo to
make her head blow up. The year is 2002. In his new underground
lair behind the famous Hollywood sign, Dr. Evil outlines his
latest evil plan. Using a time machine he will go back to 1975
and bring back a Dutchman, Johan van der Smut (alias
Goldmember), who had developed a cold fusion unit for a tractor
beam. He intends to use the tractor beam to pull a golden meteor
into the Earth to strike and melt the polar ice caps and cause
global flooding. However, the plot is discovered by the British
Secret Service, and Austin leads an assault team to arrest Dr.
Evil and place him in a maximum security prison. Austin is
knighted for his services but is disappointed when his father
(the famous super-spy Nigel Powers) fails to attend the
investiture. However, he later learns that his father was
kidnapped from his yacht and that some of the crew have had
their genitals painted with gold. It was immediately revealed to
Austin that Nigel was kidnapped after he skipped out on the
knighting ceremony. In search of answers, Austin visits the
imprisoned Dr. Evil, who tells him that the insane Goldmember is
behind the abduction and on condition that he is transferred to
a normal prison, reveals that he is in 1975.Traveling back to
1975, Austin infiltrates Goldmember's roller disco club "Studio
69" and begins the search. Austin meets up with Foxxy
Cleopatra—an old flame and FBI agent—who is working undercover
in the club. Austin locates his father but before they can
escape they are delivered into Goldmember’s inner sanctum.
Goldmember abducts Nigel to 2002 in Dr. Evil’s time machine.
Austin and Foxxy give chase in the MOD’s time-travel device.
Back in 2002, Frau Farbissina visits Dr. Evil is in his normal
prison and tells him that his son, Scott, wants to take over the
family business and has started becoming evil to the point of
losing his hair. By way of a kiss, Frau passes a key to Dr.
Evil. The other prisoners are encouraged to start a riot, which
distracts the guards and permits Dr. Evil and Mini-Me to escape.
A British Intelligence mole in Dr. Evil’s organization informs
Austin that Dr. Evil has moved to a new lair somewhere near
Tokyo, Japan. Austin and Foxxy fly to Tokyo where they are
informed that Dr. Evil's henchman Fat Bastard is wrestling at
the Asahi Sumo Arena. Slipping into the changing rooms, Austin
confronts Fat Bastard and manages to subdue him after a botched
wire-assisted jump. Fat Bastard confesses that a Japanese
businessman, Mr. Roboto, is making some sort of contraption for
Dr. Evil. Dr. Evil’s new lair is a submarine lurking in Tokyo
Bay. Goldmember tells Dr. Evil that they have the ultimate
insurance policy in Austin Power’s father. Mini-Me escorts Nigel
to his cell but he starts to subvert Mini-Me. Later, Scott
presents his father with a pair of sharks with laser beams
attached to their heads. Overjoyed, Dr. Evil professes his love
for his son and seats Scott at his right hand, displacing
Mini-Me, who leaves dejected. Austin and Foxxy meet with Mr.
Roboto, who pleads ignorance about Nigel’s whereabouts.
Unconvinced by his denial, Austin and Foxxy infiltrate Roboto's
factory where the command unit for the tractor beam is being
loaded in Goldmember's car. Roboto hands Goldmember a golden key
which is needed to activate the beam. Foxxy confronts
Goldmember, but Nigel is about to have an "unfortunate smelting
accident" and Goldmember escapes as Nigel is being rescued. They
chase Goldmember through Tokyo, but he reaches the safety of Dr.
Evil's sub which departs before they can apprehend him. Austin
and Nigel dispute the course of action but cannot agree, and go
their separate ways. In Austin’s hotel, the mole has arranged
the defection of Mini-Me. Austin, Foxxy and Mini-Me (now an
Austin Mini) use Nigel's spy car in submarine mode to reach Dr.
Evil’s lair and gain entry. Foxxy splits up from Austin and
Mini-Me, and they begin to search the sub. In the control room,
Dr. Evil threatens the World Organization with a global flood.
To prove he isn't bluffing, he uses the tractor beam to pull a
satellite out of orbit. Following the successful trial of the
beam, Roboto demands a bonus which Dr. Evil refuses. Becoming
more evil, Scott takes over and disposes of Roboto in the shark
tank. Adopting a disguise Austin and Mini-Me are waylaid by the
medical officer but obtain a plan of the vessel. Rumbled by the
MO, Mini-Me escapes and meets up with Foxxy while Austin is
taken to the control room. Dr. Evil offers to show Austin his
plan before killing him, but the activation key is missing.
Foxxy and Mini-Me enter with guns and the missing key. Austin
now threatens Dr. Evil at gunpoint, but his father intervenes
and reveals that Dr. Evil and Austin are brothers, separated at
an early age during an assassination attempt. The three are
reconciled, but Scott interrupts, angry that now that he's
finally become evil his father is turning good. Declaring that
he hates them all, he vows revenge and leaves. However,
Goldmember intends to complete the destruction of the world.
Although Foxxy throws the activation key into the shark tank
Goldmember has a spare, his gold-plated penis. As Goldmember
begins to activate the tractor beam, Dr. Evil reverses the
polarity of the cold fusion unit, which electrocutes and kills
Goldmember and destroys the meteor. Alone in Dr. Evil's
Hollywood lair, a completely bald, maniacal Scott declares that
he will get Austin Powers.
Carmen:
A Hip Hopera is an MTV production from 2001 starring Beyoncé
Knowles, Mos Def, Rah Digga, Wyclef Jean, Mekhi Phifer, Da Brat, Joy
Bryant, Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow, directed by Robert
Townsend. It is based on Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen, but set in
Philadelphia and Los Angeles in modern times.
The movie received mainly negative reviews. To date, it is the
second major attempt at an African-American adaptation of the opera
(the first being the critically acclaimed Carmen Jones which has
been selected for the inclusion into the American National Film
Registry).
Carmen Brown (Beyoncé Knowles) is a seductive,
aspiring actress who causes trouble everywhere she goes. She gets
involved with Derek Hill (Mekhi Phifer), who is engaged to the
cocktail waitress, Caela (Reagan Gomez-Preston). At Lou's Bar,
Carmen gets into a fight with a jealous woman. The crooked
Lieutenant Miller (Mos Def) orders Hill to bring Carmen to jail.
Carmen tries unsuccessfully to seduce Hill, but she convinces him to
let her stop at her apartment to change clothes. There, she puts on
lingerie and wins him over. He is caught in the morning (with Carmen
no where to be found) by Lieutenant Miller, who brings Caela with
him as he arrests Hill. Caela slaps Hill and tells him she hates
him. While in jail, Hill cannot stop thinking about Carmen. She
writes him a letter, and he shares his obsession with cellmates Bow
Wow and Jermaine Dupri. While Hill is in jail, Carmen meets the
famous rapper Blaze (Casey Lee) at a nightclub, The Spot. He wants
to bring her to Los Angeles, but succeeds only in bringing her best
friends. Carmen promises to meet them in LA once Hill is out of
jail. Unfortunately, Hill is facing a year of probation once he gets
out. However, after he punches the lieutenant in the face during an
argument at the bar, he and Carmen flee Los Angeles. Things in Los
Angeles don't go well. Carmen can't find an acting job, and Hill's
fugitive status prevents him from obtaining employment. She runs
into her best friends, Rasheeda (Rah Digga) and Nikki (Joy Bryant),
who are being treated like royalty by Blaze. The three of them have
their tarot cards read by a psychic (Wyclef Jean). Rasheeda and
Nikki receive favorable fortunes, but Carmen's cards read "ruin,"
"sorrow" and "death." She decides that it's time for a change. She
goes to Blaze's rehearsal and wins an invitation to be his date to
his next concert. Shortly afterwards, Carmen breaks up with Hill and
moves in with her friends in a house apparently owned by Blaze. She
feels that she shouldn't give up her life for him, even though he
did for her. Much like his counterpart in the original opera, Hill
is devastated. He also learns from Caela, who hates him but still
loves him, that he is in danger. Since Hill knows how crooked he is,
Miller wants to get rid of him. But Hill goes to Carmen to try to
win her over and make her leave with him. Carmen doesn't want to
leave and tells Hill that she is staying. While they were arguing,
Miller was watching them and then shoots Carmen in the back twice
with a silenced gun. The movie ends at Blaze's concert and in
tragedy.
thx: wikipedia.en |