At a Cannes Film Festival preview of the upcoming movie “Dreamgirls,” stars Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson admitted they’d dealt with some weighty issues for their roles. Knowles, 24, said she lost 20 pounds to play the super-svelte Deena Jones, the lead singer of the Dreamettes – a ’60s-style group loosely modeled on Diana Ross and the Supremes. “At the beginning (of filming), I was my normal weight,” she said. “I actually gained a little bit, but then I lost 20 pounds when I went from young Deena to old Deena. I wanted it to be something more than just makeup and hair. I wanted to see the change.” Asked whether Hollywood executives pressured her to drop the weight, Knowles, in a blue halter dress designed by her mother, Tina, said, “Oh no, that was my idea.” Her co-star, former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, makes her big-screen debut as Effie White, the powerful singer criticized by the Dreamettes’ manager (Jamie Foxx) for her full figure.
Hudson told reporters she wasn’t trying to lose weight: “Why fix something that isn’t broke? Someone has to represent the average girl. Not everyone is a size 2. I’ve been trying to work out, to make sure my curves don’t get too curvy. I enjoy my jelly where it is.” The movie, based on the Tony-winning 1981 Broadway musical, is due in theaters in December.
