Amanda Bynes’ Hairspray Week
Amanda Bynes’ Hairspray Week
One of the perks of being a movie star is getting gifts just for being who you are. And Amanda Bynes (along with her puppy) enjoyed the fringe benefits of her success yesterday at the 2008 World Experience DPA Gift Lounge, along with some of her Hairspray cast mates.
And speaking of Hairspray, the “She’s the Man” actress delighted her fans earlier this week at the Palm Springs International Film Festival during a free outdoor screening of the film.
According to Bynes, it was the movie’s values that drew her in. “The reason I wanted to be in this movie so badly is because it has such a great message to send to kids. It’s a wonderful movie that families can watch together. It’s a movie about accepting yourself and accepting others for their differences and it’s just got great music. I feel very lucky to be in it.”
And the “What a Girl Wants” hottie confessed that working with the amazing cast of the John Waters remake was a bit overwhelming. “I was lucky to be in this ensemble. To be with Queen Latifah and Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney and John Travolta, I look up to all those actors. So I got to learn a lot and I got to work with Adam Shankman, who is such a talented, amazing director. I felt so blessed.”
As for the writers strike, Amanda is trying to look on the bright side of things. “The strike is affecting me. I had a few projects in the works and they were sort of stopped dead in their tracks. But I’ve taken it as a time to play with my puppy and just relax because once it is over, I think everything is going to come back strong. I hope!”
More presenters announced for the Tonys
CBS has secured even more celebrities to grace the stage at Radio City Music Hall next Sunday. Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), Julie Chen (Big Brother), Harry Connick, Jr. (Will & Grace), Laurence Fishburne, Mandy Patinkin (Criminal Minds), David Hyde Pierce, Lily Tomlin and John Waters (Til Death Do Us Part) have been added as presenters. These actors and actresses (and, er, Julie Chen) will join an already stellar list of presenters and host Whoopi Goldberg.
I have to admit it. I’m getting a little excited for The Tonys. I usually find them boring. The performances are fantastic but the awards in between are a bit of a snore. However, this cast of presenters is intriguing. I’ll at least be flipping back and forth hoping to catch the performances and my favorite stars.
The 62nd Annual Tony Awards will be held on Sunday June 15th from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
Movie Review: Hairspray
Hairspray is a balls to the wall musical. It’s not a performance after performance show like Dreamgirls. It doesn’t take itself too serious, even though it sometimes deals with some serious issues of racism/segragation. Usually I’m against remakes, but this is a perfect example of how to do it right. Adam Shankman has created a very different version of this movie. It’s more colorful, more fun, more accessible, more cinematic, better choreographed, and more star studded than John Water’s original. It’s not the same movie, nor does it want to be.
I must admit, I hadn’t watched the John Waters classic until earlier this Summer. I was lucky enough to catch a screening at Delores Park in San Francisco as part of their movies in the park series. For those who have never gone, it’s a great experience. Imagine hundreds of excited movie-goers on picnic blankets watching a huge blow up screen with the San Francisco skyline in the background. It’s beautiful. And it’s also one of those crowds that makes the movie better than it could be. Sometimes they sang along to the music, sometimes the clapped or cheered. But even though I saw the film under these great circumstances, I walked away somewhat disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good film, with the signature John Waters feel, but the film is definitely dated, and it shows.
Months earlier I was invited to Dolby Labs to screen 20 minutes from the new film. The footage I saw that night impressed me greatly. And I think I entered into the John Waters showing expecting Shankman’s film. That’s not to say that Shankman’s film doesn’t have it’s problems, or should I say PROBLEM: John Travolta.
Travolta ruins almost any scene or sequence he’s involved with. It’s rather funny because it seems like Travolta in drag is one of the main selling points for the movie for most people. But truth is, he is undeniably the only bad part of the film. All the performers/actors/actresses are perfect. Newcomer Nikki Blonsky is the shining star of this film. It will be interesting to see where she will go from here.
Interview: Hairspray Director Adam Shankman and Star Nikki Blonsky
On Monday June 25th I had the chance to sit down with Hairspray director / choreogrpher / executive producer Adam Shankman and star / newcomer Nikki Blonsky, who plays Tracy Turnblad in the film. Nikki is a 17 year old from Long Island who won a nationwide search to win the coveted role of Tracy.
Our roundtable interview was the last one on their San Francisco press day, but Adam was as energetic as ever. I’m still amazed at how self deprecating Adam is about his previous movies/jobs (Pacifier, Cheaper by the Dozen…etc). Listen to the interview using the player below, or check out the chapter points after the jump.
00:40 Shankman talks about The Pacifier and his previous films
01:35 Returning to the musical genre
03:00 Fighting for the Job
03:40 Why Hairspray: Feeling like an outsider
04:40 The relevance of this story of Prejudice in today’s society
05:50 Finding Tracey
07:30 The Actors Become Their Characters
08:45 The Casting of Allison Janney
09:40 Casting John Travolta
10:20 Bashing Dreamgirls, Making an effective Musical
11:20 Improving/ADR
12:10 Not Trying to Compete with John Water’s original Hairpray
12:30 Baltimore hasn’t changed
13:30 The Length of a Comedy
14:15 Nikki talks about the photo frame duet
15:20 Not Breaking Tracey Out of Jail
17:00 Zac Efron Making Out with the Photo Frame
18:00 Nikki’s exhausting production schedule, Coming Up From Working Minimum Wage
19:00 Cold Stone Creamery Jingles
19:30 Casting/Finding Nikki
21:45 Fans of Musical Theatre
22:15 Nikki’s Future in Film
23:15 Adam talks about his next project: Bedtime Stories starring Adam Sandler
24:35 No Interest in Remaking Pink Flamingos: “Why would you remake a John Waters movie just to remake a John Waters movie?”