Tagline: You can’t stop the beat.
“Hairspray” is originally based on the 1988 John Waters comedy about star-struck teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show. The new version of the film will be based on New Line’s hit Broadway adaptation of the film, which debuted in 2002, and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Director. Travolta will play Edna Turnblad and Queen Latifah will play Motormouth Maybelle in the film. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman will contribute new songs to their Tony Award winning score.
Sixteen years after the release of the original film, New Line Cinema is bringing a feature film adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway production “Hairspray” to life. Featuring new and original material based on John Waters’ 1988 cult classic about star-struck teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show, the comedy features a remarkable collection of talent including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (“Chicago”), and director Adam Shankman (“Bringing Down the House”). The new screenplay for “Hairspray” was written by Leslie Dixon (“Freaky Friday,” “Outrageous Fortune”).
Introduction
Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion – dancing. Her dream is to appear on “The Corny Collins Show,” Baltimore’s hippest dance party on TV. Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) seems a natural fit for the show except for one not-so-little problem – she doesn’t fit in. Her plus-sized figure has always set her apart from the cool crowd, which she is reminded of by her loving but overly protective plus-sized mother, Edna (John Travolta). That doesn’t stop Tracy because if there is one thing that this girl knows, it’s that she was born to dance. As her father Wilbur tells her, “Go for it! You’ve got to think big to be big.”
After wowing Corny Collins (James Marsden) at her high school dance, Tracy wins a spot on his show and becomes an instant on-air sensation, much to the chagrin of the show’s reigning princess, Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow), and her scheming mother, Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer), who runs television station WYZT. Even worse for Amber is the fact that it’s not just the audience who loves the new girl in town; Amber’s sweetheart, Link Larkin (Zac Efron), seems to be smitten with Tracy’s charms as well. This dance party gets personal as a bitter feud erupts between the girls as they compete for the coveted “Miss Teenage Hairspray” crown.
At school, however, a short stint in detention and raised-eyebrows caused by the budding relationship between her best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes) and Seaweed (Elijah Kelley) opens Tracy’s eyes to a bigger issue than the latest dance craze or the coolest hairdo – racial inequality. Throwing caution to the wind, she leads a march with Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) to fight for integration and winds up with an arrest warrant instead. Tracy is on the lam now and goes underground – literally – to her best friend Penny’s basement.
Has Tracy’s luck finally run out? Will she miss the final dance-off against Amber and forfeit the title of “Miss Hairspray,” or will she sing and dance her way out of trouble again? When big hair meets big dreams anything can happen – and does – in this high-energy comedy that proves you don’t have to fit in to win.
Based on the 1988 John Waters cult classic film and the critically-acclaimed, Tony Awardwinning Broadway hit musical, Hairspray features the all-star ensemble of John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad, Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, James Marsden as Corny Collins and Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, as well Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle, Zac Efron as Link Larkin, Elijah Kelley as Seaweed, Allison Janney as Prudy Pingleton, Jerry Stiller, Paul Dooley and introducing eighteen-year-old newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. Hairspray is directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman ( Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier) from a screenplay by Leslie Dixon ( Freaky Friday, Mrs. Doubtfire).
Inspiration
The story of Hairspray’s genesis begins in 1988, when filmmaker John Waters and New Line Cinema released the original Hairspray. Like his prior films, including Pink Flamingos and Polyester, Hairspray was written, directed and produced by Waters and quickly became another comedy cult classic. The film starred newcomer Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad, the titular Divine (née Glen Milstead) as her loving mother, Edna, and veteran actor Jerry Stiller as her father, Wilbur. This was a story that only John Waters could have told (and cast) in his own inimitable way.
“I wrote it on my bed in my kind of slummy apartment in Baltimore,” says Waters. “I lived a lot of this movie growing up in Baltimore in the early ‘60s. I used to watch the local TV teen dance show, “The Buddy Dean Show,” and even was on it once. I, like all the other white kids, was listening to the black music back then. We had three black radio stations.”
“John really lived the coming together of those two cultures in Baltimore,” says Jerry Stiller, who now portrays Mr. Pinky, the owner of the Hefty Hideaway, a dress shop with “Quality Clothes for Quantity Gals” in the new version of the film.
“The result was a story that could have only come from his uniquely crazy personality and perspective on life,” says Stiller, whose children, Amy and Ben, urged him to take the role of Wilbur Turnblad in the 1988 film. “John has no limits or restrictions when it comes to his sense of humor, and that is his brilliance as a filmmaker. His vision of life in 1962 Baltimore may be a bit twisted, but you can’t deny the fact that it’s incredibly funny.”
Waters explains that his film is actually a white person’s perspective (as seen through the eyes of teenager Tracy Turnblad) of the integration movement. “I think my movie resonated with people because it was really funny but socially redeeming without being preachy. The biggest difference, no pun intended, was that on the real Buddy Dean show, there was never a fat girl.
So that’s where the character of Tracy came from. To me, Tracy, the fat girl, basically represented every outsider, and her dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show represented the dreams of anyone facing discrimination of any kind.”
The dreams of Tracy Turnblad did not end with the final box office tally for Waters’ 1988 film. In 2002, New Line debuted “Hairspray: The Musical,” the smash hit Broadway adaptation of Waters’ cult classic film. Written by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, “Hairspray: The Musical” was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won eight, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics), Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Harvey Fierstein), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Marissa Jaret Winokur), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Dick Latessa), Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long) and Best Direction of a Musical (Jack O’Brien).
The show continues to attract audiences to Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre and to road productions all over North America thanks to its catchy music, likeable characters, underdog/outsider themes and comedy which have struck a chord with audiences of all ages. The show is also expanding internationally with a 2-week run in Japan in July 2007 and a London opening in October 2007.
For the original Tracy Turnblad, Ricki Lake (who, like Waters and Jerry Stiller, appears in a cameo role in the new film), John Waters’ movie is a Cinderella story not only in terms of its themes but for her personally as well. “It was actually a little overwhelming to be on set in Toronto on the day I did my cameo,” Lake recalls. “I mean, it was 19 years ago when we made the original. It’s surreal to think that I am actually old enough to be the new Tracy’s mother! Seriously, I think the story is still relevant today… you know, the ideas of tolerance and acceptance and inclusion. And I love the idea of the underdog winning. It’s such a positive story about being true to yourself and if you can do that, then your dreams can come true. Like mine did. Being in the original opened every door for me, and I’m eternally grateful to John Waters for discovering me and plucking me from obscurity and making me a star. In a lot of ways, Nikki Blonsky is wearing the shoes that I filled so long ago, and may she have as long and as lovely a career as I have had.”
Re-Invention
Now, in 2007, the third generation of John Waters’ story has been created. Neither a remake of the 1988 film nor a filmed version of the 2002 stage musical, the film is a “re-invention” based on the hit Broadway show.
In Fall 2004, New Line Cinema – the common thread to all three iterations – enlisted producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to help shepherd this new version to the screen, which began with their hiring of screenwriter Leslie Dixon ( Mrs. Doubtfire, 2003’s Freaky Friday). The duo are veterans of the musical genre, having executive produced the Academy Award-winning Chicago (which was the first movie musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 34 years) and produced television productions of “Gypsy,” “Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” “Annie,” and “The Music Man.”
“All three incarnations of Hairspray have the same DNA, the same bloodline,” says Neil Meron. “They’re all very much related to one another, but unique in their respective artistic sensibilities. This film utilizes the building blocks of the original movie and combines it with the energy and fun of the Broadway musical to create a singularly different translation of the story. It’s like having triplets…they’re not always identical, they don’t always look the same, but they come from the same family.”
“For all of us, it was first and foremost about honoring the source material,” says Craig Zadan. “Whether it was comedic elements from the original film or musical elements from the Broadway show, we approached this movie with a deep respect and dignity for the story that John Waters so brilliantly conceived.”
New Line Cinema and the producers found a perfect choice for director in Adam Shankman. Hairspray also marks a return to Shankman’s roots in the entertainment business. “This is truly a dream come true for me, and I feel like I’ve come home,” says Shankman, who spent the first half of his career as a successful dancer and stage and film choreographer. He then turned to directing movies like The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier and Cheaper By the Dozen 2, which combined to earn more than $600 million worldwide.
“Craig and I have known Adam for many years and have watched him grow into a talented filmmaker,” says Meron. “When we first sat down with him to talk about the possibility of him directing this movie, he was very, very passionate. He told us that he understood this show more than anything he’s done in his entire career. To him, the story of Tracy Turnblad and her indomitable spirit to succeed somewhat echoes portions of his own life and his desire and determination to work hard and be successful. Given his expertise in the genres of dance, musical theatre and film, and his intrinsic relationship with the material, he truly was the guiding force behind this film.”
“The films I’ve been lucky enough to direct over the past few years didn’t utilize the skill sets of my years as a dancer,” Shankman says. “Directing Hairspray took me back to doing what I felt I was always supposed to do…and I loved it. On top of which, I was surrounded by some of the most talented people I have ever met. The cast is so rich in talent and their collective courage in stepping into a project like this was awe-inspiring.”
Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron believe the magic of Hairspray is created from the combination of Shankman’s unique skills as a director-choreographer; the stellar cast of awardwinners and hot, young newcomers; and the upbeat music and lyrics of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who have written several new songs for the film, including the Elvis-inspired “Ladies Choice” for heartthrob Link Larkin (played by Zac Efron) and “Come So Far (Got So Far To Go),” sung by Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron and Elijah Kelley, which appears over the end title credits.
For his part, Marc Shaiman credits John Waters for laying out a timeless blueprint with the original film. “What we’ve come to today is all based on John Waters’ classic story of 19 years ago,” says Shaiman. “At the heart of that story is the idea of realization of one’s dreams.”
Shankman adds, “I’m a huge fan of John’s film and the Broadway musical. And the reason they both succeeded is because the story of the big girl with the big hair and big dreams holds up no matter what medium is used to tell it. So now, by telling the story using the best of both worlds of film and theatre, a whole new generation of audiences are going to get to experience the crazy comedy of the original film and the sheer joy and exuberance of the Broadway show.”
A New Twist on Tradition
This new version of Hairspray is not without at least two traditions of the franchise’s legacy: the role of Tracy Turnblad has always been played by an unknown talent; and the role of Edna Turnblad has always been played by a male actor. First it was Ricki Lake and Divine, then Marissa Winokur and Harvey Fierstein and now, Nikki Blonsky is Tracy and John Travolta is Edna.
“Come to Mama.” With arms wide open, those were the first words actor John Travolta said to his latest leading lady, Nikki Blonsky, upon meeting her for the first time back in August 2006. Seeing them together, everyone involved in the production knew they were on to something special.
“Their connection was immediate,” recalls producer Neil Meron. “That first meeting exemplifies the relationship they had from the get-go. It was a bit overwhelming because it was like these two people were destined to be together in some way. We all just took a step back because we knew we were witnessing the beginning of what might be one of the greatest ‘mother-daughter’ acts of all time.”
“The day I met John Travolta is a day I’ll never forget,” says Blonsky, the high school senior who was working part-time at a Long Island ice cream store before landing a starring role opposite one of the most famous movie stars in history. “When we hugged, I felt like I was hugging my real mom. He made me feel so comfortable and loved and protected…which is just what moms are supposed to do.”
“A star has definitely been born,” says Travolta of Blonsky’s performance. “I don’t think I’ll ever have to eat my words about that. Once you see Nikki perform it will be quite evident that she has a presence, talent and charisma not unlike a young Barbra Streisand or Bette Midler. She is as unique in her abilities as those two women are in theirs.”
The chemistry between Travolta and Blonsky may have been instantaneous, but the casting of Edna and Tracy Turnblad was not accomplished quite as quickly. In fact, it took about a year for producers Zadan and Meron to convince Travolta to star in the film.
“John is the greatest movie musical star of this generation, but he was reticent for a long time because he was concerned about a return to the genre that made him a star,” says Meron. “He kept telling Craig and me that if he was to make another musical he wanted it to be a project that was not going to be ordinary in any way. Well, we just kept saying to him that John Travolta portraying Edna Turnblad would be anything but ordinary.”
Zadan adds, “Understandably, John was hesitant for many reasons, but we kept telling him that this was his role, that it would be unlike any role he has ever done in his career. John has always kept surprising his audience, and we told him this would be his biggest surprise ever, literally and figuratively speaking.”
This was not the first time Meron and Zadan had approached Travolta about starring in a musical. They initially hoped that would accept the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago, but he turned it down and the part ultimately went to Richard Gere.
“Honestly, Chicago was the first musical film project that tempted me to return to the genre, and now I have regrets that I didn’t do it,” says Travolta. “So, Craig and Neil told me that I was not getting away this time. They gave me all the details of how they were going to approach the material and all the reasons why I should play this part. For quite a while, though, it was hard for me to grasp the concept of being a leading man for 30 years, and now I am being sought out to play a fat woman from Baltimore. But after many, many months of indecision, they successfully convinced me to shake my booty again, but this time as Edna.”
Helping transform Travolta into Edna was the special makeup design expertise of Tony Gardner and his incredibly talented team of makeup artists and prosthetic craftsmen. Essentially, for four to five hours on each of his work days, Travolta was encased from forehead-to-toe in a full body fat suit (weighing over 30 pounds) and five separate gel-filled silicone prosthetic appliances (chin & lower lip, upper lip, two cheek pieces and one wrap-around neck and cleavage piece). In total, three full body suits (plus a half-body silicone suit weighing 75 pounds) were built, and 11 pairs of legs, nine pairs of arms and over 40 sets of facial appliances were manufactured to use in the transformation.
In regards to the daily makeup process, Travolta had a love/hate relationship with Edna. “I can say being Edna was fun, but becoming Edna was not fun,” says Travolta. “I loved the effect the look had on people when they would see me on set as Edna, but I did not love the process involving the prosthetics and the fat suit. It was very uncomfortable and very hot. It was like wearing seven layers of very uncomfortable clothing, and I remember thinking I would never want to be a woman if that was the case.
“However, I was thrilled the first time I saw myself as Edna and I bought it,” he says. “Out of nowhere really she just appeared, and it was a lot of fun walking on to the set and having people greet me as Edna…people kind of forgot that I was inside there somewhere, so that was funny to me. Instead of playing the old joke of being a man in a woman’s fat suit, I decided to play a new joke and create and become a blue collar woman from Baltimore.”
As daunting of a task as it was for the producers to convince Travolta to play Edna, it was, by all accounts, an equally formidable challenge for Adam Shankman to find the girl who would become his Tracy.
“I was always committed to finding an unknown to play Tracy, and Neil and Craig and the studio backed that notion 100%,” says Shankman. “It was critical to the film and the role itself that whoever was to play Tracy couldn’t bring any baggage to the character. Not only did I want to cast an unknown, I insisted that the actress be the same age as the character. That was imperative in my vision for the role. Audiences need to see this chubby teenager for the first time and immediately fall in love with her.”
“However,” adds Shankman, “Tracy clearly has a distinctive look. We all knew it was going to be a momentous challenge to find an adorable, loveable 17-year-old, overweight girl who could sing, dance and act and hold her own up against the likes of John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken and Michelle Pfeiffer. But we did…boy did we ever!”
The filmmakers undertook an exhaustive worldwide search with open casting calls in Canada, Britain, Australia and the United States and set up an Internet web site for taped audition submissions as well. Over 1,000 girls were seen by the filmmakers before Nikki Blonsky rose to the top of the list.
“Once I saw Nikki’s audition, I immediately put her on my list,” recalls Shankman. “She was the right age, certainly looked the part, she could sing very well and she made me laugh. She had incredible confidence and a lovable sexuality about her that is very Tracy. As the casting process continued I saw lots of other girls and lots of other audition tapes. But I kept going back to Nikki’s. I’d watch a few others and then I’d watch hers again and then see a few others and then watch hers again. Eventually, I realized I just could not get over the fact that this little chubby teenager from working- class Long Island had the same passionate dreams of performing as the little chubby teenager from working-class Baltimore. The parallels between their lives were so apparent it gave a sense of inevitability to the decision to cast her. Finally, we all just recognized the fact that Nikki was Tracy. All she really had to do was show up, put on the wigs and it was done.”
More call backs and meetings with the filmmakers followed, and finally a screen test in Los Angeles that sealed the deal for everyone. Several months later, Blonsky arrived on set to begin rehearsals. Her first impression had indeed become a lasting one.
“Nikki was a machine,” says Shankman, laughing. “She was a sponge. She was tireless and there was no amount of direction you could waste on her. With no dance training and only her high school musical theatre experience, Nikki just immersed herself in the work. It was scary how quickly she learned the dances, how to hit her marks and figure out camera left from camera right. In fact, she was so good that all the other dancers and actors had to step up their game to keep up with her.”
“The only time we were able to have the entire cast together was for one table read and singthrough in August,” says composer/lyricist and co-executive producer Marc Shaiman. “The energy and excitement in that room was palpable and contagious. It was outrageously thrilling and exciting to see this incredible and diverse amount of triple-threat talent in one room. In the midst of it all, we witnessed Nikki emerging as Tracy. It was an incredibly moving experience and something we will never forget.”
“Being a part of that incredible read-through actually brought tears to my eyes,” says lyricist and co-executive producer Scott Wittman. “Watching Nikki alongside all those incredible actors that day made me her biggest fan.”
“I owe such an incredible amount of gratitude to Adam,” says Nikki Blonsky. “I believe he was my guardian angel watching over me all the time as I was living my dream. He brought me to tears on many occasions. To hear that I was doing a good job from him was just the most gratifying thing I had ever experienced. He made me the happiest girl in the world, and he will always have a place in my heart… always.”
Production notes provided by New Line Cinema.
Hairspray
Starring: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Nicole Blonsky, Zac Efron, Allison Janney
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Screenplay by: Leslie Dixon
Release Date: July 20th, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG for language, suggestive content and momentary teen smoking.
Studio: New Line Cinema
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $118,871,849 (59.2%)
Foreign: $81,757,382 (40.8%)
Total: $200,629.231 (Worldwide)