Director Adam Shankman on the set of Hairspray.
After rising through the Hollywood ranks with such directorial efforts as The Wedding Planner, The Pacifier and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, former choreographer Adam Shankman feels in many ways like Hairspray is the movie he was born to make. It certainly feels that way once you’ve seen the film.
Fandango recently caught up with Shankman at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills for a one-on-one interview, and despite a ridiculously full day of movie promotion, the L.A. native was still full of energy when we spoke to him in the late afternoon.
Fandango: It seems like there was a certain amount of serendipity in Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad) finding her way to this project. Do you agree?
Shankman: Absolutely. I always had faith, and I knew it was going to be Nikki. It was everybody else who was new. Edna's always played by a man, and Tracy's always played by somebody new.
Basically, Nikki saw that the auditions were happening through an online announcement. She taped herself and sent it to New Line, but it went to the wrong office. It ended up in the office of somebody in physical production, not casting. The assistant just happened to be nosy, totally inappropriately, and opened it and watched the film. He thought something was kind of good about her, thought there was something there, showed it to his boss. She sent it to David Rubin, our casting director. And having seen that, he looked at her, called her in, put her on tape and it went from there.
Fandango: John Travolta told us it took him 14 months to decide to say “yes” to the role of Edna. During that time, did you ever think of offering the part to Steve Martin (who you directed in Bringing Down the House, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and possibly in the upcoming remake of Topper)?
Shankman: Other people did, but I don't think he would have wanted to. It never occurred to me. I have such a good relationship with him right now. I knew he wasn't personally going to be into the amount of physical work and time that this role required.
Fandango: Why did you shoot in Toronto instead of Baltimore?
Shankman: The city of Baltimore really wanted this movie. But 3/4 of Hairspray needed to be shot on soundstages, and they simply don't have the proper kind of facilities for that.
Fandango: Was it difficult for you to make the transition from dancer and choreographer to director on The Wedding Planner?
Shankman: Not really. I had spent so much time on movie sets and TV sets, choreographing numbers and spending time with crews and directors of photography. I knew how sets ran, I knew how fast to be on your feet to make a decision. And I just sort of took to it. I just saw it as a more advanced version of what I was already doing. Telling other people what to do and making decisions; I just didn't have to crawl into anybody's head other than my own.
Fandango: It’s astounding how every part of Hairspray ties together - costumes, sets, hair, makeup. What went into making it all work together?
Shankman: I spent every free second on those types of things. I looked over every eyelash, every hair placement, every hairstyle... I mean I did three and a half hours with the costume designer on collars and buttons. We were really diligent, and it was a lot of work.
Fandango: One of the great things about your version of Hairspray is that it does not go overboard in paying homage to the spirit of John Waters' original 1988 movie. What made you decide to do that?
Shankman: John told me specifically not to refer back to his version too much. He told me to tell it from my point of view, because that was the way this story needed to be told. If I tried to copy anything he did, it would not be successful.
Fandango: Do you personally identify with the central storyline of Hairspray?
Shankman: Yes; I have a lot of Tracy in me. I grew up an outsider, and I have a lot of drive to accomplish what I want, and I really don't like people telling me I can't do something. I’m also passionate and with this movie, I never cared so much about anything before.
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