Eddie Murphy joins cast of Dreamgirls

Eddie Murphy will join Beyonce Knowles and Jamie Foxx in openly gay writer-director Bill Condon's screen adaptation of Dreamgirls, it was announced Monday. Murphy will play music superstar James "Thunder" Early, for whom three girl singers, the Dreamettes, sing backup before becoming stars on their own as the Dreams. Murphy's recent films include Shrek 2, Daddy Day Care, and the Nutty Professor films.