Jennifer Hudson updates 09/06/08

Hudson exceeds career expectations
Jennifer Hudson has learned to ignore what doubters say. She did so famously after American Idol judge Simon Cowell told her that “she was out of her league” before she lost to Fantasia on the show four years ago.

Not only did Hudson go on to win the part of Effie in Dreamgirls, competing against 750 other hopefuls; she eventually earned a 2007 supporting actress Oscar for the role.

Afterwards, she was warned about the post-award letdown, but she decided that wasn’t going to happen, either. This summer, Hudson, 26, managed a well-received co-starring turn in the big-screen hit Sex and the City.

This fall, she’s featured in the much anticipated film version of the bestselling Sue Monk Kidd novel The Secret Life of Bees, which had its premiere as a Toronto International Film Festival gala on Friday and opens theatrically on Oct. 17. via Canada.com

Film Review: The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd’s acclaimed, Civil Rights-era novel, “The Secret Life of Bees,” about a troubled South Carolina teen who finds redemption in an unlikely place, has been turned into an affecting ensemble piece that’s destined to generate a fair share of awards-season buzz.

Nicely adapted and directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood (”Love & Basketball”), the Toronto International Film Festival premiere really takes flight on the wings of its powerhouse, female-centric cast headed up by Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and, especially, Sophie Okonedo.At least a couple of those performances are certain to resonate particularly strongly ahead of the film’s October 17 release, which, along with sturdy word-of-mouth should give Fox Searchlight a head-start in its kudos campaigning. via Hollywood Reporter

Jennifer Hudson readies new album, two films
Jennifer Hudson is cutting it close to the wire. The 2004 “American Idol” contestant has been working on her first album for a year and a half, since a week after she won a best supporting actress Oscar for her motion-picture debut as Effie White in “Dreamgirls.” She has completed 40 songs with such in-demand R&B producers as Ne-Yo, Stargate, Tank, Timbaland, T-Pain and the Underdogs. Yet, as she arrives in Los Angeles on a recent Friday afternoon, there’s less than six weeks to go before the disc’s scheduled Sept. 30 release, and she has two more vocal tracks to do over a weekend that also includes rehearsals with a band led by “American Idol” musical director Rickey Minor for her forthcoming promotional tour.

Arista Records isn’t taking any chances with what may well be the company’s hottest signing since Whitney Houston. Once Hudson has completed recording, executive producers Clive Davis and Larry Jackson will shuffle through all the songs and decide which ones make the final cut. via San Francisco Chronicle