Beyonce Knowles, who stars as Deena Jones in the current film version of Dreamgirls, has been deemed ineligible for an Academy Award for Best Song, according to The Los Angeles Times. Knowles, along with Henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler, had been credited as the writer of "Listen," a song that was added to the Dreamgirls score especially for the movie. The original Broadway show, which opened 25 years ago, featured music by Krieger and lyrics by the late Tom Eyen.
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' music awards rules, "No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Original Song category. A third statuette may be awarded when there are three essentially equal contributors to a song." The Oscars' songwriting branch has decided to qualify Krieger, Preven and Cutler for the Best Song prize and offered no explanation for why Knowles was excluded in favor of the other three writers.
Knowles is among the nominees for Best Song for the Golden Globe Awards, which does not limit the number of songwriters honored. She is also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress Musical or Comedy and has been touted in the lead actress category for a possible Oscar nod. Jennifer Hudson, who arguably has the same size part as Knowles, is being put forward as a Best Supporting Actress nominee for her performance as Effie White.
