As previously reported, original "Hairspray" screenwriter and creator John Waters has submitted a plot outline about the film, which will be directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman, who helmed the first "Hairspray" movie musical. Songwriters Shaiman and Scott Whittman will compose tunes for the sequel.
In an interview with MTV.com, Shaiman stated, "I don't know how mainstream it would go if he really stuck to his ideas; it would be a real John Waters-style film," when describing Waters' vision for the sequel.
The composer said that in Waters' sequel to "Hairspray," "people hate Tracy because she doesn't lose weight. They ask 'Now that you're famous, why won't you lose weight?’ And Link experiments with drugs. Throughout half the movie, he has an ongoing dialogue with three pimples on his forehead."
Shaiman continues: "Edna loses weight, but sees her husband lusting after fat women. And so, she finally breaks down and runs over to a snack table. Just within one number, she gets fat again; gaining 20 pounds at a time. [Her fat] pops out, and by the end of the song she's completely at her old weight again," he explained.
In an earlier interview, Shankman also said that the character of Link Larkin, portrayed by Zac Efron in the film musical, will become steeped in the Beatles-fueled British Invasion. "Part of John Waters' idea is that he gets caught up trying to masquerade himself as a member of the British Invasion," Shaiman told MTV.com. "And it's wearing that mop-top Beatles hairdo that causes those pimples on his forehead!"
Shaiman also revealed that the sequel to "Hairspray" would explore more of the musical palette of the 1960's. "The Sixties is just the most fantastic era for music, because it was so wide-ranging. I grew up then, and on the radio you'd have Frank Sinatra going into 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane, going into Peggy Lee, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones. There was so many different kinds of music, all on the same radio stations. That's what's so great about writing for that era."
No casting been announced for "Hairspray"'s screen return, which will be produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan.
