Hairspray (2007) News
Janney joins 'Hairspray'
08/28/06Looking for a change of pace after a long run on "The West Wing," Allison Janney has joined the cast of the New Line musical "Hairspray" and made a deal to develop a sitcom at CBS. Janney, who won four Emmys for her role as White House chief of staff C.J. Gregg, will start rehearsals on the Adam Shankman-directed "Hairspray" right away. She'll play Prudy Pingleton, the overbearing mother of Penny (Amanda Bynes) who believes that dancing and having fun is sinful. She joins John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Zac Efron and Nikki Blonsky. Production on the Leslie Dixon-scripted film begins in September for a summer 2007 release.
'Hairspay' adds Walken
08/16/06New Line has completed casting of key roles for "Hairspray," with Christopher Walken to play Wilbur Turnblad in the Adam Shankman-directed film. Walken joins John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Zac Efron and newcomer Nikki Blonsky in the cast. New Line had originally confirmed that Jim Broadbent was to play Wilbur Turnblad. Shooting starts next month in Toronto, and the studio has accelerated the release to summer 2007.
'Hairspray' casts dad
08/06/06New Line has completed casting for "Hairspray," signing Jim Broadbent to play Wilbur Turnblad, the father of lead character Tracy Turnblad. Broadbent joins John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron and newcomer Nikki Blonsky, who'll play Tracy.
Pfeiffer sings for 'Hairspray'
07/16/06New Line has found its "Hairspray" villain, setting Michelle Pfeiffer to play Velma von Tussel, the former Miss Baltimore Crabs beauty queen-turned-bitter Baltimore TV station owner. Pfeiffer joins John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron and newcomer Nikki Blonsky, who'll play lead Tracy Turnblad. Adam Shankman is directing and Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producing. Leslie Dixon wrote the script.
'Hairspray' cast gelling
03/02/06"Hairspray" is starting to gel. New Line Cinema has made pay-or-play deals with John Travolta and Queen Latifah to star in the Adam Shankman-directed musical, which will begin production in Baltimore and Toronto. Deals were completed late Wednesday evening for Travolta to play downtrodden housewife Edna Turnblad and for Latifah to play Motormouth Maybelle, a civil rights activist and dance show host in the 1962-set musical. Pic is set for a summer 2007 release.
Shankman to direct 'Hairspray'
09/28/05New Line Cinema has set Adam Shankman to direct and choreograph "Hairspray," the screen adaptation of the Broadway musical. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producing. Shankman, who's finishing the holiday movie "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" for Fox, will begin working immediately with screenwriter Leslie Dixon and lyricist-composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the Tony-winning team that wrote the "Hairspray" score. Production will begin early next year in Baltimore, for a summer 2007 release. Casting will now begin in earnest. John Travolta is expected to play Edna Turnblad, the role Harvey Fierstein originated onstage. The involvement of Shankman, who directed "Bringing Down the House," makes Queen Latifah an instant front-runner for the role of Motormouth Maybelle.
New look for 'Hairspray'
06/21/05"Hairspray" is getting a major makeover. New Line has pushed the start date of the movie musical from this fall to spring 2006 and co-directors Jerry Mitchell and Jack O'Brien have left the production. The studio has drawn up a short list of replacements, topped by "Chicago" director Rob Marshall, and shifted its projected "Hairspray" release from Christmas 2006 to summer 2007. New Line confirmed the exits of Mitchell, who choreographed the stage musical, and O'Brien, who won a Tony for directing it. The duo had been set to co-direct since New Line announced its feature plans.
© 2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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