Jamie Foxx and Usher have just been added to the Bill Condon directed adaptation of the stage musical Dreamgirls. The casting pits the two alongside formerly announced Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy is supposedly being looked at to play singer James “Thunder” Early for the film, which begins production in January in Los Angeles.
Condon wrote the script as he did for the widely popular, Oscar-winning film Chicago.
In Dreamgirls Foxx will be taking on the role of Curtis Taylor Jr., the Svengali-like manager who leads female singing group the Dreamettes to stardom as the Dreams, while Usher will play choreographer C.C. White.
Variety goes on to say that Murphy is being courted to play a character that’s one part James Brown, one part Marvin Gaye — a charismatic womanizer and R&BR&B star who gives the Dreamettes their first big break when he invites them to sing backup for him.
As far as a synopsis, the film is an adaptation of the Broadway hit that centers on a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960’s in which Beyonce will star as Deena Jones, the two remaining ladies have yet to be cast.
