HAIRSPRAY
Following the success of the hit movie musical Hairspray, based on the smash stage show of the same name, New Line Cinema has asked John Waters – the man behind the original non-musical film that inspired both of these hits – to pen a sequel. Neil Meron and Craig Zadan would return as producers, as would director-choreographer Adam Shankman and songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who would provide a brand new score for the sequel. No casting has been announced, although New Line hopes to gather as many of the original film’s stars together for round 2.
A very wise and handsome man once said: “Every generation needs its Grease 2.” Watch this space for news as it comes, folks…
Musical Cyberspace 
The movie was good, hence its box office success. But I question the motive to the sequel. If Waters felt “inspired” for creativity’s sake to do a sequel, that would be fine but if New Line Cinema wants one because they want another cash cow, I have my doubts that it won’t appear forced.
While I’m not a fan of analogies this might help illustrate my thinking. The measure of an entrepreneur’s work is success (i.e. money) but his motivation should not (I won’t say cannot) be money, but rather an idea/dream that s/he wants to bring to life. But an idea must earn money for it to become a reality.
I feel similarly about art. It should (I won’t say must) come from an idea an artist wants to express. If an artist’s motivation is “hey, I need some money, I think I’ll create something and sell it”, chances are that it won’t be as good as something that an artist wants to create on his/her own initiative. But it still comes down to selling it in the end.
That’s what bothers me about the motivation for a sequel to Hairspray. It came from New Line Cinema rather than the writer. It sounds to me that there was no compelling reason other than to make some more money. If Waters already had some artistic compulsion to extend the story, then it might work.
It’s targeted to the young teenybopper crowd. To them, a lot of them, it is art and they think it is good.
You know what are the nicest? Peppermint creams. I remember making them at this summer thing I did. Good ol’ HMS Endeavor made the best peppermint creams (Yeah – our groups were ship names. We came 2nd. HMS Victory won, which I think is a bit ironic). Ok… [/mindless rambling]
I thought he was the shit! Daphne kinda ruined it for me. It was my first time seeing the show too.
You can judge a movie based on the performances. Not solely based on them, but they are a big factor.
Um, in my opinion, Hairspray is about the actors and their performance. Honestly I think that the story line is not interesting enough to get by with bad actors/singers/dancers, everything must be on point for the show to work. I felt the movie lacked strong character actors who captured the essence of the characters themselves and, therefore, the movie was not that great.
I’m quite excited, for one reason alone: Marc Shaiman. He’s the greatest pastiche songwriter out there right now, and the idea that he’s going to get to use his signature early sixties sounds as well as music moving into other sounds and genres of the later decade is going to be fodder for some prime, tuneful, hilarious stuff.
Want my proof? Listen to the Fame Becomes Me cast recording. Half the songs on there sound like they could have been in a Hairspray sequel. “Twelve Step Pappy” sounds like a hilarious cut Velma song, as does “More, More, More,” a number that, in itself, is a send-up of the Hairspray score and Tina Turner sixties Motown soul in general. The rest of the numbers sound hilarious and clever. I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if some of them were reworked into Hairspray 2, given that Fame Becomes Me will never see the light of day again, period.
Nice! OMG, why Hairspray 2? Ugh. One of my best friends and I were like “NO” when we talked about this in the car today – I think.
I’ll give it a try.
What if the entrepreneur/artist succeeds in bringing the idea/dream to life, but fails financially? Or if the entrepreneur/artist fails in bringing the idea/dream to life, yet succeeds in earning money on the result? How would you judge the results?
I think you answered your own questions in your hypothetical scenarios.
I know someone who writes for television. He came up with an idea for a television movie and is right now writing the script. For him, success or failure will depend on someone in Hollywood buying his script. And if they like the general idea of the script but want some changes, he said he is willing to write them in. He told me he writes because he “has to”. I think it’s best that he writes from his own inner passion but the bottom line is that someone must be willing to pay for it to make it a reality beyond his own eyes. And he might have to make some compromises in his “art” in order for it to be made into a movie which might fall short of his original idea.
If instead, a studio came to him and asked him to write a script based on their own idea. He might have some difficulty in writing a good script if he cannot become passionate about it. If it goes against his heart, it might show in his writing and the subsequent film might be less than satisfying. That is my concern about a sequel to Hairspray. If Waters has an idea for a sequel and is anxious to write it, then it might work.