Dreamgirls (2006)

Jamie Foxx: Curtis Taylor Jr.

Photos 

Quotes 

• Curtis Taylor Jr. : Who was the first artist to sing "Hound Dog"?

  C.C. White : Elvis Presley.

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : Big Mama Thorton. She had the number-one single on the R&B charts, but the white stations wouldn't play it, because to them it was just another race record.

• Curtis Taylor Jr. : Deena, you know why I chose you to sing lead? Because your voice... has no personality. No depth. Except for what I put in there.

• C.C. White : Isn't music supposed to express what people are feeling?

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : Music is supposed to sell.

• Effie Melody White : Tell me something, Curtis. Do you think it's right to promote an amateur performer over a professional?

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : I'm not sure what this is about...

  Effie Melody White : It's about fairness, Curtis. It's about people paying their dues. Isn't that what you keep telling me? "Get in line, Effie. Wait your turn". So why am I sitting here without so much as a B-side on a 45, when an amateur like Martin Luther King Jr. gets his own freaking album? I mean, can he even sing?

• May : I'm amazed, Mr. Taylor. As much as I love my daughter, I never thought she had much of a voice.

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : Oh, Deena has something better. She has a... quality.

  May : You make her sound like a product.

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : A product. I like that!

• [Black protesters are rioting outside Curt's studio] 

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : Hey! We black-owned!

• Effie Melody White : So... Deena's going to sing the lead 'cause you like the way she looks? Am I ugly to you, Curtis?

  Curtis Taylor Jr. : Baby, come on! You know how I feel about you, come on. Don't make it personal.

  Effie Melody White : Well, what am I supposed to do? Deena's beautiful, and she's always been beautiful... but I've got the voice, Curtis! I've got the voice! You can't put me in back; you just can't!