Etta James Says Beyonce Is "Too Bourgeois"...

Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
edited February 2008 in Strut Central
Legendary soul singer Etta James recently spoke out publicly in response to news Beyonc?? will play her in the movie Cadillac Records.After learning that Beyonc?? had been cast to portray her in the upcoming picture Cadillac Records, James told the New York Post's Page Six she is pleased with the decision."It's a privilege and an honor to have somebody like that girl," James said. "I don't think she looks like me, but that's all right. They can fix that up."James also warned that the role may be a difficult stretch for the multi-platinum starlet, since she was a little less refined than Beyonc??."Oh my god, she's going to have a hill to climb, because Etta James ain't been no angel!" James confessed.James has already offered to help Beyonc?? meet the challenge by opening up about her life - at least to some extent."I can tell Beyonc?? some things; some of the things I might not tell her," James, who overcame an addiction to heroin, said. "I wasn't as bougie as she is, she's bourgeois. She knows how to be a lady, she's like a model. I wasn't like that... I smoked in the bathroom in school, I was kinda arrogant, so those are some of the things I would want to tell her."Etta James also noted a difference in singing style between herself and Beyonc??:"I have my own way of putting those songs over, and I was just wondering if Beyonc?? could, and my son said, 'They're thinking about how she looks, but Mama, she can really sing.'"James has also promised to work with the former Destiny's Child singer on nailing those special nuances."I kinda have a man's voice," the 70-year-old James admits. "It's a contralto, more bluesy, religious. I would really like to work with her on that.As SOHH previously reported, Cadillac Records will also star Adrien Brody in the role of music exec Leonard Chess, as well as Cedric the Entertainer and Jeffrey Wright. Beyonce also recently signed on as the film's executive producer. Shooting on Cadillac Records is scheduled to start on March 10 in New Jersey, with two days on location in Mississippi.http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/13847
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  Comments


  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    I'd be a GREAT, Pete Cosey. Somebody with those connections hook it up!!

    B/W

    This cast looks strange.

    Adrien Brody ... Leonard Chess
    Mos Def ... Chuck Berry (rumored)
    Beyonc?? Knowles ... Etta James
    Columbus Short ... Little Walter
    Jeffrey Wright ... Muddy Waters
    Cedric the Entertainer ... Willie Dixon

    - spidey


  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts

    Adrien Brody ... Leonard Chess
    Mos Def ... Chuck Berry (rumored)



    And suddenly any interest I had in seeing this film disappears down the toilet.........

  • HamHam 872 Posts

    Adrien Brody ... Leonard Chess
    Mos Def ... Chuck Berry (rumored)



    And suddenly any interest I had in seeing this film disappears down the toilet.........

    but adrien brody makes beats! and white people love mos def.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I knew this was going to happen, they would eventually make her bio-pic and cast someone not even remotely right. Huge bummer.

  • Someone find the 12 year old who thought casting Beyonce as Etta James was a good idea. They clearly have no idea who James is, what she looks/sounds like and what her life's been like.

  • This is the movie Matt Dillon backed out of because he didnt think they were doing enough research wise and he didnt want to part of, he thinks it is going to be a terd. I am scared to think Etta's classics are going to be all "updated" vocal wise with that 45 notes per syllable bullshit...this movie is going to suck

  • ha ha, i didn't even know Etta James was still alive

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    This is the movie Matt Dillon backed out of because he didnt think they were doing enough research wise and he didnt want to part of, he thinks it is going to be a terd. I am scared to think Etta's classics are going to be all "updated" vocal wise with that 45 notes per syllable bullshit...this movie is going to suck

    AAAAAHHHHHHGGGGGGG




    (you know you're a lucky bastard when the most upsetting thing in your morning is that a bunch of dolts are going to botch a film about the incredible life and career of a singer.)

  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    ha ha, i didn't even know Etta James was still alive

    YOU.

    Avatar is annoying. Stop it.

  • ha ha, i didn't even know Etta James was still alive

    She'll be pissing on Britney Spears' and Lindsay Lohan's tombstones. Her name is Jamesetta, no one fucks with that.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    ha ha, i didn't even know Etta James was still alive

    You would be perfect to help these clowns on this train wreck of a movie.

  • i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    also its kind of hard to picture beyonce playing a junky.

  • i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    also its kind of hard to picture beyonce playing a junky.


    Dunno, but they're apparently looking at Justin Timbrlake for Howlin' Wolf...

  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    also its kind of hard to picture beyonce playing a junky.


    Dunno, but they're apparently looking at Justin Timbrlake for Howlin' Wolf...


  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    also its kind of hard to picture beyonce playing a junky.


    Dunno, but they're apparently looking at Justin Timbrlake for Howlin' Wolf...

    4 stars

  • ha ha, i didn't even know Etta James was still alive

    she's playing in Detroit on April 11....

  • i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    also its kind of hard to picture beyonce playing a junky.


    Dunno, but they're apparently looking at Justin Timbrlake for Howlin' Wolf...

    run this by Faux, the president of the fan club, Im sure he has some good points about Justin being the only authentic candidate for this role, he'll tell us that Justin is (kinda) from memphis and a "legitimate" R&B singer...

  • I look forward to the role of Linda Ellerbee being played by Ciara or Gedde Watanabe.


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    damn what happened to this chick? and dude in the audience's hand placement is mildly amusing. but not enough to offset the the NAGLness of Ciara in this pic. she used to be cute. whatever back to Etta James.

  • Thread title is misleading in many ways.

  • Thread title is misleading in many ways.
    lol

  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    Thread title is misleading in many ways.
    lol

    haha it's true, though - the title makes it sound like she
    was talking shit about Beyonce, when in fact she was praising her.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    As much as I ride for Beyonce, this is the wrong choice.

    In reality, I cant think of any young R&B singer right now who is remotely in the same vocal range as James.

    Then again, Diana Ross isnt near Billie Holiday and did a decent version in Lady Sings The Blues.

    Beside being Light-Skinned and Faux-Blonde, Beyonce cant get achieve the grit.

    Tameka Copland would be the closer voice match, but she aint as "pretty" and isnt the household name.

  • what about that other chick in dreamgirls. her face dont look like etta's but neither does beyonce's. her voice and her body type are more of a match however.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    what about that other chick in dreamgirls. her face dont look like etta's but neither does beyonce's. her voice and her body type are more of a match however.

    Very True.

    Jennifer Hudson would be a closer vocal match, but after she got the Oscar, Beyonce aint gonna place her "comp" in any movie shes puttin the money up for.

    Besides it sounds like a vanity project.

  • Besides it sounds like a vanity project.

    When isn't it with her?

  • i like that she refers to herself in the third person. its a sign of genius. shig said so.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Besides it sounds like a vanity project.

    When isn't it with her?

    Haha...no doubt.

    This is her money and decisions vs Dream Girls where she is the Star placed within
    an established play/story.

  • i like that she refers to herself in the third person. its a sign of genius. shig said so.

    Ol' Pickwick LOVES it when R&B acts refer to themselves in the third person. Ruth Brown used to do this a hell of a lot, and even with today's acts, in interviews Mary J. Blige almost never says "I" or "me" or whatever, it's always "Mary."

  • i wonder who is going to play johnny guitar watson.

    Probably nobody. Watson was on Chess, but none of his important sides were recorded there.
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