HOLLYWOOD-CA (rushprnews) 01/02/2007-- Nine-time Grammy-winning superstar Beyoncé has had a handle on her musical destiny since she was a child. Yet while “Dreamgirls” is her third major studio movie (“Austin Powers: Goldmember,” Steve Martin’s “The Pink Panther”), it is her recent Best Actress Golden Globe nomination that will help her get the choice roles she needs to build a lasting film presence.   

 And unlike her Deena character in “Dreamgirls” she will have some control of this aspect of her career, a luxury she has been used to in her music. “Back in the “Dreamgirls” time it was very tough to cross over, being African-American,” Beyoncé told entertainment newsmagazine Hollywood Today (www.hollywoodtoday.net).  “Deena didn't have any control and was the lead singer of the group because Curtis (her manager) felt she was the most marketable.”

 “I write my own songs, I write my own video treatments and I'm in control of my career. I've always been and was the lead singer because of my voice, because of my talent and didn't have the need to become a star because I had a very happy childhood and a very comfortable living. But I learned what a Diva was because of “Dreamgirls,” she said.

“I definitely can relate to the drive and focus Deena had especially at a young age and of course I'm in a group. I will always be in a group because we're sisters, and became a solo artist but really the parallels stop there. Me on the other hand, I grew up with both of my parents. I was upper-middle class, I went to private school and I don't have a Curtis in my life. I had to make a lot of adult decisions, and that forced me to grow up a little faster.”

 And while she says there’s no Curtis in her life, there is her beau, star-maker and hip-hop star Jay-Z, president of Def Jam Recordings. Though he said he would make her his bride back in 2004, and the pair had to recently deny rumors of an imminent wedding, the fact it hasn’t happened appears to prove she has a strong say in matters.

 Even with all that, it wasn’t enough to land a starring role in a picture. She originally set her sights on Effie, the emotional anchor of the film played by Jennifer Hudson, but director Bill Condon didn’t even believe she could play Deena. She had to screen test for the part, drop 20 pounds to play the Diana Ross-type lead singer and hire a full-time acting coach.
“When I found out they were making the movie, I said, 'I have to be a part of it.' Effie's part is incredible; it would have been so fun to play that. Bill Condon didn't even believe me as Deena in the beginning, let alone that. But I didn't care that Deena was not the star. I just wanted to be a part of the film and a part of something that's so relevant and so exciting. I think 20 years from now people will still be watching the film.”

Beyoncé said she surprised everyone with her screen test. “When I did the scene with Curtis (Jamie Foxx), it was dramatic. I was bawling and crying but we ended up changing the scene to make it less.”

 And she surprised herself with her transformation to Diana Ross. “We don't really look anything alike but it was amazing. We used a lot of the photographs from Diana and the Supremes and also Martha and the Vandellas and Cher and a lot of different people from the 60s and 70s. It was the transformation. I lost 20 pounds which was really hard because I love to eat and it worked because I really did become someone else on screen.”
Furthermore she had to hone a new craft to portray Deena’s personality and pain, even in non-speaking scenes.  “I absolutely did learn to act for this. I got the best acting coach, Ivana Chuban. I wanted pain behind my eyes so I could act out the scenes and really be thinking deeper things. We used pictures, we used music, and we used diaries. I worked with her every day, cried every day, even when I didn't have scenes that were sad. Just so I could have that pain behind me because Deena was in a lot of pain.”

Even though Beyoncé wanted the Effie role she was happy to be alongside Hudson, another greenhorn. “When I first met Jennifer I was as scared as she was. Acting is new to me and I knew that she would think that I was comfortable because she'd never met me; she'd only see what people put out in the media. She was so new to it and so excited, so honest and so pure it just makes me want to hug her.”
Furthermore, she is humble in the presence of the undeniable power newcomer Hudson showed both onscreen and off. “Jennifer had it the toughest because she's never done a movie, she's never done an album and now she's in the biggest movie and has the pressure of the movie to do the song that everyone knows. When we were on Oprah and all the people were standing up (when she sang “And I’m Telling You”), I'm seeing this star, her becoming this star before my eyes. It's just so beautiful and I just hope she maintains herself because she's really amazing, she deserves it.”

 Beyoncé, still riding her hit “B’Day” album, appears headed for more celluloid success herself. She is said to be attached to a project from Oscar-winning writer-director Sophia Coppola. Called “Tipping the Velvet,” it is about an 1890’s dancehall singer and her lover, reportedly to be played by “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria. And that’s not to mention the new scripts stacking up on her agent’s desk right now.  

 Read more on “Dreamgirls” and later this week, Jennifer Hudson, in entertainment newsmagazine Hollywood Today at www.hollywoodtoday.net

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