Beyonce Happy To Be Involved In ‘Dreamgirls’

HONG KONG (November 28, 2006) — Beyonce Knowles says she enjoyed working with Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and director Bill Condon on “Dreamgirls,” and is looking forward to doing more film roles.

“I got to work with the best actors. They are so polished and so supportive. Usually, when you have Oscar-winning actors, sometimes they are not so supportive. But I could just watch and learn,” the 25-year-old singer said in an interview published in the December issue of Prestige Hong Kong magazine.

“Dreamgirls,” adapted from the Broadway musical, stars Oscar winner Foxx as a car salesman who worms his way into the Detroit music scene and becomes an impresario, orchestrating the crossover of black music to white mainstream culture.

Murphy co-stars as a flashy R&B singer. Knowles, “American Idol” finalist Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose play the Dreamettes, who start out as Murphy’s backup singers but become a sensation on their own under Foxx’s management.

“It was a great vibe,” said Knowles, who fronted R&B group Destiny’s Child. “Everyone was just happy to be involved in the movie.” Foxx won the best-actor Oscar for his performance in “Ray,” and director Condon won an Oscar for adapting the screenplay of “Gods and Monsters.”

Knowles won five Grammy Awards for her top-selling solo debut, 2003’s “Dangerously in Love.” Her second solo album, “B’Day,” was released earlier this year.

Her screen credits also include “The Pink Panther” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”

“It’s exciting to do something new and put myself out of my comfort zone. I hope there will be more roles, and deeper roles, and this one will help prepare me for the future,” she said.

“Dreamgirls,” a DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures release, will be in U.S. theaters starting Dec. 25.