 |
|
|
|
Hairspray: ELLE sits down with its stars!
Hairspray heroines chat about their big dreams and even bigger hair.
By Mary Dickie
|
|
|
|
Get more great entertainment articles by subscribing to ELLE Canada magazine!
From a low-budget cult film to a Tony-winning Broadway musical to its most recent incarnation as a Hollywood blockbuster, Hairspray proves that it is both a charming and timeless tale of self-love and racial tolerance. Set in Baltimore in the early '60s, the story revolves around some teens who fight racism with rock 'n' roll. At the centre of this camp-fest is Tracy Turnblad, a plump teenager whose dream is to appear on the Corny Collins Show, a local televised dance party.
Much to the surprise of Tracy, her parents and especially her nasty blond nemesis, Amber Von Tussle, Tracy gets her wish and steals not only Amber's starring spot on the show but also her boyfriend, the hunky Link Larkin. Still, Tracy's feud with Amber becomes overshadowed by a bigger struggle over segregation, and she ends up leading the fight to allow black kids and white kids to groove together on live TV.
Tracy's overnight success story resonates with Nikki Blonsky, the previously unknown singer-actor from Long Island who landed the role after a five-and-a-half-month search. Blonsky was told the good news at her after-school job at an ice-cream shop in Great Neck, N.Y., by an Entertainment Tonight film crew.
"They told me they were doing a behind-the-scenes segment with each of the four finalists," Blonsky recalls. "Little did I know that they were really only coming to me to tell me that I got the part. I was so excited -- it was the feeling of all my dreams coming together at once." The 18-year-old leads an all-star cast that includes John Travolta as Tracy's mother, Edna; Christopher Walken as her father, Wilbur; Amanda Bynes as her best friend, Penny Pingleton; Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle; Zac Efron as Link; Brittany Snow as Amber; and Michelle Pfeiffer as Amber's mother, Velma. Both Blonsky and Bynes -- a more seasoned performer with acting credits on She's the Man, What a Girl Wants and All That -- were awed by the cast, which also includes cameo turns from the original Hairspray director, John Waters, and his iconic Tracy, Ricki Lake. But there's no doubt that it's Travolta's kitschy turn as the bigger-than-life housewife that is generating buzz. Previous cross-castings with drag diva Divine and Harvey Fierstein set a high bar, but according to Bynes and Blonsky, Travolta nails it.
"Nobody could take their eyes off John, because he's such an icon," says Bynes, 21. "He has these beautiful blue eyes, but he was dressed up in women's costumes, so it was weird at first. He looks like a lady! That's what makes him a star, I think -- being able to play a role like that. That's what makes him special."
Check out our list of Paris Hilton quotes!
|
|
|
|
Next page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
OR |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
