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 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2
Who: Zac Efron
Role: Troy Bolton
On DVD: 12/11/07
Official Site
IMDB
 DEAR
Who: Amanda Bynes
What: Clothing Line
Sold at: Steve & Barry's
Official Site
Steve & Barry's
 SYDNEY WHITE
Who: Amanda Bynes
Role: Sydney White
In Theaters: 9/21/07
MySpace
IMDB
 ON THE DOLL
Who: Brittany Snow
Role: Balery
In Theaters: 2008
Official Site
IMDB
 QUEEN SIZED
Who: Nikki Blonsky
Role: TBA
Airs: 1/5/08
Official Site
IMDB
PROM NIGHT
Who: Brittany Snow
Role: Donna
In Theaters: 4/11/08
Official Site
IMDB
 FINDING AMANDA
Who: Brittany Snow
Role: Amanda
In Theaters: TBA
Official Site
IMDB
 HAROLD
Who: Nikki Blonsky
Role: Rhonda
In Theaters: TBA
Official Site
IMDB
BLACK WATER TRANSIT
Who: Brittany Snow
Role: Sardoonah
In Theaters: 2007
Official Site
IMDB
BURNING SANDS
Who: Elijah Kelley
Role: TBA
In Theaters: 2008
Official Site
IMDB
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AMANDA BYNES:
What: "What I Like About You"
When: Monday - Friday
Time: 3:30pm
Channel: The CW
What: "Amanda Show"
When: Sundays
Time: 5:00pm
Channel: Nickelodean
What: "Amanda Show"
When: Monday-Saturday
Time: 4:00pm
Channel: The N
What: She's the Man
When: Here
Time: Here
Channel: HBO
ZAC EFRON:
No Current Listings
BRITTANY SNOW:
What: John Tucker Must Die
When: Here
Time: Here
Channel: Cinemax
ELIJAH KELLEY:
What: Take the Lead
When: Here
Time: Here
Channel: Cinemax
NIKKI BLONSKY:
No Current Listings
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We are in no way affiliated with Hairspray or anyone associated with the film.
All materials were found in public domains or it was otherwise stated. No infringement intended.
Feel free to contact us if you have noticed any errors.
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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 sing-through 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.”
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