Hairspray (2007 film)
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| Hairspray | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Adam Shankman |
| Produced by | Craig Zadan Neil Meron Marc Shaiman Scott Wittman |
| Written by | Leslie Dixon Thomas Meehan Mark O'Donnell John Waters |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Distributed by | New Line |
| Release date(s) | July 20, 2007[1] |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Hairspray is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. The Broadway musical was made after the 1988 film, thus the 2007 film is not technically a direct remake of the 1988 film – merely a remake of the Broadway musical, which was an adaptation of the 1988 film. The 2007 film is produced by Zadan/Meron Productions in the United States and will be distributed by New Line Cinema.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
Set in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1960s, a "pleasantly plump" high school adolescent, Tracy Turnblad (Nicole Blonsky) goes from being an outsider to celebrity trendsetter. It is the story of a girl, Tracy, whose dream is to dance on the Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Dean Show in Baltimore. She gets a chance on the show and becomes a celebrity overnight, and launches a campaign to racially integrate the Corny Collins Show. She also has to deal with the constant "raggings-on" of rival dancer Amber von Tussle (Brittany Snow), who will do everything in her power to see that Tracy fails in her efforts. However, after referring to Tracy, in front of Corny Collins (James Marsden) as a "Trash-Can", Amber is given demerit points and loses her on-air crush, Link Larkin (Zac Efron), to Tracy.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Travolta | Edna Turnblad |
| Amanda Bynes | Penny Pingleton |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Velma von Tussle |
| Brittany Snow | Amber von Tussle |
| Nicole Blonsky | Tracy Turnblad |
| Zac Efron | Link Larkin |
| Queen Latifah | Motormouth Maybelle |
| Elijah Kelley | Seaweed J. Stubbs |
| Christopher Walken | Wilbur Turnblad |
| Allison Janney | Prudy Pingleton |
| James Marsden | Corny Collins |
| Jerry Stiller | Mr. Pinky |
| Taylor Parks | Lil Inez |
[edit] Production
An open casting call was announced to cast unknowns in Atlanta, New York City, and Chicago. Parks was chosen for the role of Lil' Inez, and Blonsky and Kelly were chosen to play Tracy and Seaweed.
Filming took place in Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from September 5 to December 8, 2006[2], with the rest of the production and location settings being done in Baltimore (the film's setting) in-between and after the Canadian scenes. The majority of the filming was done in Canada rather than Baltimore because of lower costs in Canada and because Canada was better equipped with the soundstages needed to film a musical. They will also do some of the post-production, including some of the musical numbers, in Los Angeles.
The decision to do the film in Canada has upset not only fans of both the original film and broadway musical, but also the residents and officals of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, who were hoping that the remake would generate revenues. Even Waters, who also served as consultant on the remake had mixed feelings about it; although he saw no problems with it being done in Canada, he did joked about it by saying, "At least they didn't change the lyrics (in the musical) to 'Good Morning Toronto'."
Scenes in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada took place between November 22 to December 3 at the old Queen Victoria School. The school is scheduled to be demolished after film production is completed.
[edit] Trivia
- The movie's logo and colors are very similar to the 1988 film's logo and the Broadway show's logo colors.
- John Waters, the director of the original Hairspray film (where he also played a deranged psychologist that tried to "cure" Penny Pingleton), will be making a cameo in the 2007 version.
- Ricki Lake, who played Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 version, will also make a cameo.
- Filming wrapped on the 2nd of December, and most cast members have returned home during postproduction.
