According to Variety, Bill Condon will direct the movie version of "Dreamgirls," the thinly veiled story of the rise of Diana Ross and the Supremes during the formative years of Motown Records.

The hit Broadway musical about a trio of young black female singers who strive to cross over to the white-dominated pop charts in the early '60s bowed in 1981.

Condon, who won an Oscar for his "Gods And Monsters" screenplay and was Oscar-nominated for his screenplay for Gods and Monsters, has written the first draft of the script.

He has committed to making Dreamgirls his directorial follow-up to Kinsey.

Production will begin in late summer or early fall.

Mark and Condon said they expect to cast a star in the role of Curtis Taylor Jr., the Svengali who discovers singing group the Dreams and guides them to fame. They'll likely tap the rich crop of young singers for at least one member of the Dreams trio, but said they are open to creating a star, as the original musical did with Jennifer Holliday, who won a Tony for her show-stopping turn as Effie Melody White.