Oscar Nods or Oscar Nos: Will "Cadillac Records" Make Beyonce a Contender?

When I covered the Cadillac Records press conference on December 1 in New York, cast members were eager to share their story about being a part of this powerful bio-pic about music legends Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Etta James. Stars Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Adrien Brody and Director Darnell Martin were all in the house. But super star Beyonce Knowles, aka Sasha Fierce was a no show. Why was Beyonce the only cast member missing from the press conference? She was busy promoting her new album, I am....Sasha Fierce. It would have been a great PR move for Beyonce to join fellow actors, Oscar winner Adrien Brody and Tony Award winner Jeffrey Wright, to not only show her support for the film in NYC, but to align herself with a circle of actors who have already achieved critical acclaim. It has already been reported that since Dreamgirls, Beyonce has been chasing that coveted gold statue, desperate to get out from under the 'spotlight' of Jennifer Hudson. But when Ms. Fierce is a no show at her own press conference, what are we to think? Being accepted and respected as a serious actor in Hollywood is no easy task, especially when you have a larger than life "hip-pop" persona to contend with.

Cadillac Records is well worth the price of the movie ticket, with a host of power house performances, most notably by Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def and Beyonce. But what struck me about the film was that in the pivetol scene between Beyonce, who plays tortured songstress Etta James and Adrien Brody, who plays Chess Records Founder, Leonard Chess, the chemistry appears stale and forced. I got my hands on the original script and sources close to me say that the scene was deliberately "watered down" because Knowles shyed away from doing a raw love scene with Brody. Where we should have gotten a strung out Etta looking for a "daddy figure" in Chess and an emotionally intense love scene, full of unbridled passion as Chess declares his undying love for Etta, we get the Disney version of Halle Berry's break-out performance in Monsters Ball. This sugar-coated cop-out version leaves the viewer wondering what, if anything, was left on the editing room floor. Is this fall-out from Beyonce's newly married status? As Beyonce shakes her booty on stage and proudly waves her ring finger warning all single ladies to "Put a Ring on it", we wonder if Hovah, now that he has wifey, is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Could this cost Ms. Knowles-Carter her Oscar moment? Only box office numbers will tell.

"Cadillac Records" rolls into theaters Friday, December 5th.