'Dreamgirls' revives the ole Oscar road show

The last time a Hollywood studio did a roadshow as part of Oscar run-up was back in 1982, but it worked just fine: "Gandhi." Makes ya wonder why Harvey Weinstein never took to the highway with a fleet of fancied-up busses packed with the casts of "Chocolat" and "Cider House Rules," eh?

Actually, the stars don't go along for the ride, but I suspect, in a Harvey production, they might've, eh? Now Paramount/DreamWorks plans to hit the road with "Dreamgirls" as if the Oscar-contending film was Destiny's Child or, well, the Supremes on tour. Fans will get a chance to see it (at a higher ticket price) before the film's official national opening on Dec. 25. The tour opens simultaneously on Dec. 15 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, the Zeigfeld Theater in New York and the Metreon in San Francisco, offering one show per night and a matinee on weekends.

"Almost as old as the movie biz itself, roadshows were used as a way to build buzz before a movie went wide," reports Variety. "It wasn't uncommon for movies to play in a roadshow for six to eight months, or, as with 'The Sound of Music,' even longer. Par and DreamWorks will spice up the 'Dreamgirls' roadshow with lobby exhibits on the making of the film and the opportunity to buy exclusive merchandise and the soundtrack. Those shelling out their $25 also will get a limited-edition program. (The roadshow for Disney's 'Fantasia' also included a program.) There will be no commercials or trailers before 'Dreamgirls' rolls and no intermission. The big epics of the 1950s and 1960s, including 'The Ten Commandments' and 'Lawrence of Arabia,' bowed in roadshows as studios found themselves competing with television for eyeballs. The last film to have an official roadshow was the 1972 musical 'Man of La Mancha.'"