Check out the trailer for the upcoming Hairspray movie. Of course, you can never really tell what a movie is going to be like just by watching the trailer, but the movie does look very promising. Judging solely from this preview, the movie would seem to have a very infectious energy.
Michelle Pfeiffer looks like she's going to be a hoot as Velma von Tussle. But John Travolta looks awful, both in terms of his physical appearance and the quality of his performance. Pert near embarrassing, in fact. It's really too bad the producers didn't go with Tony-winner Harvey Fierstein.
This is hardly the first time a celebrated musical performer lost the movie role to a "star." Julie Andrews famously lost out to Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, and Rosalind Russell beat out the legendary Ethel Merman for the lead in Merman's iconic Gypsy. It's interesting to note how frequently the "stars" fail to live up to the quality of their inherited performances.
Best wishes to former BoCo student Hayley Podschun on her movie debut.
Break a leg, doll!
Amen on Harvey and all the other stage stars who were passed over for film versions. Isn't it a bit suspect that the trailer only shows the star of the movie - Mr. Travolta - for a total of about 2 seconds?
Posted by: Steve On Broadway (SOB) | April 23, 2007 at 04:26 PM