If that occurred, Hollywood might be tempted to side with the real, wounded veteran star over the fictitious film, thus derailing its Oscar hopes.

But one source close to the film insists that everything's fine, even claiming that Ross and Geffen have held private meetings behind the scenes during which they worked out all of their differences.

Reps for Geffen and Ross will not confirm that, and, eerily, decline all comment.

One hopeful sign that harmony may be ahead is the personal affection Ross feels for Beyonce Knowles, who portrays her on film.

"Diana has told Beyonce, 'If you need me for anything, if you have any questions or you need help with anything, I'll be there to help you,' which is a lot more than she did in 1982 with Sheryl Lee Ralph, who played the role on Broadway," Taraborrelli notes.

Ralph frequently tells the story of a nasty run-in with Ross, which occurred at the Russian Tea Room in New York. A furious Ross marched up to her, glared at her and pointed, raging, "I know who you are!" Then stormed off.

Perhaps Ross cares so much about Beyonce because she's the former lead singer of Destiny's Child.

"Beyonce really was born to play this part," says director Bill Condon. "Beyonce has lived a lot of Deena Jones' story already, having grown up as a teenager in a girl group and then emerged into the spotlight on her own."

To prepare for the role, Beyonce has immersed herself in Ross' old recordings. The two divas even look alike.

"Beyonce doesn't just evoke Diana Ross, she really is Diana Ross in much the same way that Diana Ross became Billie Holiday in 'Lady Sings the Blues,'" says Taraborrelli.

"We hope that Diana's love of Beyonce is what will save the day," says a source close to the film. "It even makes us hopeful that she'll attend the premiere and get on board to support the movie enthusiastically."

And she'd probably be wise to do so.

"Once 'Dreamgirls' is released, it will become the official version of her life," says Taraborrelli.