ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS: 1. SYNOPSIS In 1960s Detroit, a good night onstage can get you noticed but it won't get your song played on the radio. Here, a new kind of music is on the cusp of being born – a sound with roots buried deep in the soul of Detroit itself, where songs are about more than what's on the surface, and everyone is bound together by a shared dream. 2. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DREAM: BRINGING THE LEGEND TO LIFE "Dreamgirls" was an anomaly when it came to life on the Broadway stage in the early 1980s directed by Michael Bennett. While visually the play was unlike anything ever attempted on Broadway, it was the intense human drama and moving, show-stopping songs that redefined musical theater for the era. 3. LISTEN: WRITER-DIRECTOR BILL CONDON ADAPTS THE BOOK The original Broadway production of Dreamgirls was 'one of those experiences you never forget,' Bill Condon remembers. 'The story of the crossover success of African-American music during the 1960s resonates more than ever today, when African-American culture almost defines the mainstream.' 4. WHEN I FIRST SAW YOU: SINGING AND DANCING IN DREAMGIRLS Despite the enormous effect the original Broadway production had on Condon, for the film, he wanted to both honor the R&B sound of the '60s and '70s while infusing the music itself with contemporary flavor. 5. CADILLAC CAR: PRODUCTION DESIGNER JOHN MYHRE CRAFTS A 'DREAMGIRLS' UNIVERSE From the beginning, Condon's vision for Dreamgirls was a fully realized, grittily real world in which the fable – so infused with the stuff of dreams – could unfold. 6. I AM CHANGING: THE LIGHT AND COLOR OF AN ERA THROUGH TOBIAS SCHLIESSLER'S LENS Bil Condon wanted to tell the story of Dreamgirls through a palpably real lens, with all the imperfections intact. Therefore, director of photography Tobias Schliessler's cinéma vérité-infused style carried over from the football epic "Friday Night Lights" brought precisely the kind of grit he wanted. 7. LOVE YOU I DO: THEATRICAL LIGHTING BY JULES FISHER & PEGGY EISENHAUER As a counterpoint to the realistic approach taken with live action sequences for the musical numbers, Condon wanted to bring back all the glamour and fireworks that galvanized the original production. 8. JIMMY'S RAP: COSTUMES, MAKEUP AND HAIR Oscar-nominated costumer Sharen Davis's challenge was to produce clothes that would evoke a sense of period but not exist merely as reproductions of the clothing of the '60s and '70s eras. 9. AND I AM TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING: THE LEGACY OF "DREAMGIRLS" The music of the '60s and early '70s gave voice to a society in the throes of a revolution. When the sound of Motown began its saturation of the airwaves, it became the soundtrack for the Civil Rights movement breaking its way through the sheen of superficial Americana.

LISTEN: WRITER-DIRECTOR BILL CONDON
ADAPTS THE BOOK

"You don't know what I'm feeling.
I'm more than what you made of me.
I followed the voice you gave to me.
But now I've gotta find my own.
You should have listened."

The original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" was "one of those experiences you never forget," Bill Condon remembers. "It was thrilling, with a brilliant cast and legendary staging by Michael Bennett. With the passage of time, I think it's possible to take a fresh look at this material. The story of the crossover success of African-American music during the 1960s resonates more than ever today, when African-American culture almost defines the mainstream."

"'Dreamgirls' came along when music was changing, when the industry began to recognize 'urban' influences," adds cast member Eddie Murphy. "Whatever they wanted to call it, it was the same thing – the R&B, rock roots dug by black artists, that is now the sound of the times. And here was this story about this group that rode their sound into mainstream pop America."

"I saw Bennett's production of 'Dreamgirls' shortly after it opened, and it was an extraordinary, unforgettable experience," says Laurence Mark. "The look of that show and the music of that show have stayed with me all these years."

To transform the book – a written version of a musical play – into a screenplay, Condon wanted to hew as closely as possible to the original material, which cast such a powerful spell on audiences of all ages, from all walks of life, during its original run. For decades, the rights to this property have been closely guarded by one of the stage production's producers, industry legend and DreamWorks founding principal David Geffen.

When Mark first called Geffen, who is a longtime friend, to suggest that Bill Condon would be the ideal choice to write and to direct "Dreamgirls," the producer recalls, "David spent about fifteen minutes telling me very nicely that this movie would never happen because it was just too much of a risk to take. If it didn't work, he would feel responsible for tarnishing the legend of the show as well as the great legacy of Michael Bennett.

"I told him I completely understood and respected his position," Mark continues. "Still, I urged him to let me know if he ever wanted to hear Bill's ideas for the movie. After a beat, David invited us to lunch the next day.

"Sometime between the entrée and the dessert, Bill got to talk about what his approach to the movie would be - after which David immediately said, 'Well, it sounds like we should give this a shot.'"

The writer-director was heavily involved in pre-production on his acclaimed exploration of sexuality pioneer "Kinsey" at the time, but eighteen months later, Condon's first draft of the screenplay came in, Geffen was keen to move forward..

"David had been protective of this project for so long, and we were honored by his willingness to trust us with it," says Mark. "I think Bill has this movie in his DNA—one of the reasons he was put on this earth was to make it."

Geffen proved to be an invaluable resource to the writer-director. "David has these great stories about the evolution of the Broadway production, including the pre-Broadway tryouts of the show in Boston," Condon says. "When you see a show as an outsider, you might not be aware of the original intentions of the creators—and we took great care to be true to Bennett's legacy. He played a key role in not only the Broadway show, but also our screen version."