Dreamgirls Producers Apologize to Motown!

MadProfessah has been following the story of tension between Dreamgirls and the legendary Motown record label for weeks, which was recently fueled by Smokey Robinson's comments. The studio behind the hit film Dreamgirls is David Geffen's DreamWorks Pictures (which Geffen sold to Paramount Pictures last year). A few days ago the studio took out full-page ads (hat tip to blogger Clay Cane for the image above) in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter essentially apologizing to Smokey and Motown:

"Dreamgirls is a work of fiction. It is also an homage to Motown.

"For any confusion that has resulted from our fictional work, we apologize to Mr. Gordy and all of the incredible people who were part of that great legacy.

"It is vital that the public understand that the real Motown story has yet to be told."

The response from Berry Gordy, founder and driving force behind Motown, was magnaminous in victory. "I applaud DreamWorks and (parent company) Paramount Pictures for doing their part to clearly differentiate the fictional movie Dreamgirls from the real Motown. I wish them all the best in the forthcoming Academy Awards."

What is curious about the producer's apology is that it came out after all Oscar ballots had been returned so it could not have had any impact on Oscar voting. Although Dreamgirls has 8 Oscar nominations, it is only up for awards in 6 categories, since it has 3 Best Song nominations (which actually may hurt its chances of winning in that area). However with Jennifer Hudson the prohibitive favorite to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar tonight for her portrayal of Effie White and Eddie Murphy my pick for Best Supporting Actor it is very likely that Dreamgirls will be certified an Oscar-winning classic tomorrow.

On another note, tongues are wagging about E! Television's decision to invite Jennifer Holiday, the singer who originated the role of Effie in the Broadway version of the musical over 20 years ago and who won a Tony and Grammy for her stunning rendition of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)", to perform the song on the red carpet hours before the Oscars are given out later on today.