Travolta Unlikely for "Hairspray" Film Sequel
By Andrew Gans
28 Oct 2008
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John Travolta and Queen Latifah in "Hairspray."
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| photo by New Line Cinema | It looks like film star John Travolta won't be donning Edna Turnblad's housecoat again anytime soon.
The star of the recent "Hairspray" movie musical — based on the Broadway production of the same name — told Australia's Sunday Herald Sun, "I think once is enough. I did it and I did it well but I'm not a big sequel guy." (For the record, Travolta did star in such sequels as "Look Who's Talking Too" and "Staying Alive.")
As previously announced, the film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray was such a hit that New Line Cinema has asked John Waters to pen a sequel to the movie musical.
Variety reported that the project will reunite Waters with Adam Shankman, who directed and choreographed the film; producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan; and Hairspray songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Shaiman and Wittman will write new songs for the sequel.
No casting has been announced, although Variety earlier reported that New Line hoped to snag much of the original "Hairspray" cast. The "Hairspray" movie musical grossed more than $200 million worldwide, and New Line hopes the sequel will be ready for a mid-July 2010 release by Warner Bros.
The "Hairspray" film cast Travolta as the frumpy Edna Turnblad with newcomer Nikki Blonsky as daughter Tracy, the energetic teenager who shakes up her Baltimore town. Also in the film were Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley and Allison Janney.
Director Shankman told Daily Variety, "I never thought of musicals as franchises, but it certainly worked with 'High School Musical,' and the idea of working with that cast again, and creating new material and music, is a dream come true. John (Waters) has such an original and extraordinary voice; we all can't wait to see what he has come up with."
The sequel will likely pick up where the "Hairspray" film left off, in 1962 Baltimore.
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"Hairspray" is based on the musical Hairspray, currently running at the Neil Simon Theatre, which is in turn based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name. Hairspray is scheduled to end its Tony-winning run at the Simon in January 2009.
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