John Travolta portrays Edna Turnblad in the upcoming musical film adaptation of "Hairspray," bringing to the production a bevy of stage and screen credits including the big screen version of the long-running musical "Grease" and the wildly successful "Urban Cowboy."
Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan had previously hoped Travolta would accept the role of Billy Flynn in the Oscar winning "Chicago," but he turned it down. The actor says he has regrets over not taking the part, but the producers successfully convinced him to sing and dance again as a fat woman from Baltimore.
"Hairspray" is originally based on the 1988 John Waters comedy. The new version of the film is based on New Line's hit Broadway adaptation of the film, which debuted in 2002, and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book and Best Director.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman contributed new songs to their existing Tony Award-winning score. Shaiman also serves as the film's music supervisor and will compose the music score for the film as well as produce its songs. Wittman and Shaiman will also serve as executive producers on the film. The new screenplay for Hairspray was written by Leslie Dixon (Freaky Friday, Outrageous Fortune).
Travolta is the recipient of two Academy Award nominations, including one for his turn in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." He most recently starred in the comedy "Wild Hogs" and will next be seen opposite Robin Williams and wife Kelly Preston in "Old Dogs."
Following a screening of the film, Travolta sat down at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to discuss his role in "Hairspray."
Michelle Pfeiffer said the producers told her not to talk to you about working with prosthetics before shooting, as she had just finished going through that process with her upcoming film, "Stardust."
I knew from Martin Lawrence and two other people who had it and they said it was hell on wheels. I was encouraged that Evolution had happened and it was much easier, but it wasn't true.
And you were dancing with those high heels...
That was tough, but we did change the heel to more of a dance shoe. They kept bringing me skinny high heels. I said, look, my mother wore those, I understand those. However, when I was growing up I saw girls in the chorus with a thicker heel, and it was like a dance shoe. So I kept on telling them to find this shoe, and finally they brought out a shoe. I said, okay, that's the shoe, now make it many colors.
What was your first reaction when you saw yourself in full makeup and costume?
I will tell you what, I had seen it on a screen test, which I was very excited about, because when I came out I didn't recognize or see me in it. I tested it on other people, and said now look, take a look at it. This broad we are looking at, see if she is good for the movie, and I let them watch for five minutes. I said, so what do you think of her? They said she's fun, bubbly and kind of cute. I said, yeah, that's me.
Do you think she's attractive?
I said, she just has to be pleasant to look at. I said I want Delta Burke gone to flesh. Her body is like Elizabeth Taylor gone to flesh. I wanted the obvious to be appealing, because film is different than stage. You can dress a guy on stage and do that joke that she's like a refrigerator. But I don't think that works as well on this level. I think it has to be watch-able. So it was only my own criteria that I injected.
Talk about you and Christopher Walken.
Well he and I are old Broadway hoofers. He was my first choice, so I said we have got to get Chris because he knows the language, so we knew that and got it down. We got all that, so we could basically concentrate on the characterization.
You sound very proud when you talk about being an old hoofer. Is it sort of like a medal on an actors' chest?
It is what it was for James Cagney when he used to say 'I was on Vaudeville,' it is today's 'I was on Broadway.' It was a right of passage of sorts. Now, I am not saying I am going back, because it's a tough rite of passage. I did 13 years of it, summer theatre, off-Broadway, Broadway. It's like, whoa, that's enough. It's a lot of work, eight shows a week for a year or two at a time. But yes, I think it's a certain right of passage.
Now what about your character's accent?
Oh, that. Listen, these are things I fought for and won. Her curves, because they were determined to make her look like a refrigerator. I said, no, it's not going to work, I won't do it. I said I want her to look like a woman... imagine Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg gone to flesh, that's what I want. And I won that. I kept on sending the fat suit back and back. And then the face we corrected a lot of times. Now, the accent. I can't do New York because she is from Baltimore, but I said, if you let me do the Baltimore accent, it has a feminine quality to it, it's nasal... It's naturally effete, for men and women. So, when I won that war, and that argument, I knew that I was home free. But the accent was very important to me, because I think they expected me to do more of the New York thing. And I knew that would make it more masculine, more identifiable to John Travolta, and I didn't want that.
Talk about working with co-star Nikki Blonsky, as this is her first film.
Well, she's a phenomenon. I knew it from the screen test. I told people, look at this, it is like Barbra Streisand being born. This is otherworldly. I came from a theatre family, so when I was 17 or 18 you expected a performance from me. She came from a Cold Stone Creamery and high school shows. I mean, this is not what you expect. This is a level of sophistication and knowledge and confidence. I was bowled over by it, and I said we are home free now.
Were you surprised about the success of "Wild Hogs" and are you going to do a sequel?
...once in a blue moon you get an instinct about something. I'll give the the movies I had it on... "Grease," "Wild Hogs," "Phenomenon"
and "Face Off." I have been fortunate enough to have had nearly 30 successful movies, but there is sometimes when you just know something. With "Wild Hogs," I said there is a heartbeat of America that loves motorcycles and that has been going on for 60 years, since Marlon Brando... I feel like I am a motorcycle driver and I feel like there was a heartbeat that hasn't been tapped into in a comedy. Yes, they do want to do a sequel... I am not big on sequels, I have done them, but I like doing little things that have their own timelessness to them.
How was dancing with Christopher Walken in "(You're) Timeless to Me?"
We are both light on our feet, and we both have a sense of the history that I spoke of. Once he committed to being passionate about his wife, we were home. (Does Walken impression) 'Once he said, oh I got it, you know, he's crazy about her. You know, they are wild in the sack.' I said, yes, you got it. Because then I could react flirtatiously, I could react to that. It was energy coming at me, where if he had played it distant or eccentric... instead he played it, he's watching me dance and smiling.
What was your favorite costume in the film?
I like the polka dot dress, because it reminded me of that image I have of those screen people in the 50's, like Sofia (Loren). Most people would say the last number, because it was awesome like Tina Turner, but that other dress defined something for me.
Was that bit where you put your two fingers across your face from "Pulp Fiction?"
Everyone thinks it was "Pulp Fiction," so you are welcome to buy it. But, it was like, I got my eye on you, but instead I did two fingers, so it gave an illusion of that. If I would have done one finger I don't know if it would have the same impact, but I didn't mean to.
Did your wife Kelly Preston have any comments about the movie?
Kelly was onto this movie before anybody. She cried when she saw "Welcome to the 60's." When we are coming out in those pink dresses she was bawling. I said, why? She said I don't know what it is, but it is just so happy and mother daughter. She just had a thing about it that touched her. And my daughter got a kick out of Edna. As a matter of fact, when Edna was in mid dress, the prosthetic creates a flap. So, she didn't like it when I was mid dress, because we called her flapper. I said, did you like Edna, and she said, 'I like Edna, but I don't like flapper.'
Do you feel enlightened after playing a female character?
I did, and I will tell you why. I was so flirted with, so groped, I was convinced that I would be a slut. I was like, go ahead, touch me, I don't care. You know when there is a pregnant woman, everybody feels they have the right to touch her stomach. No, you don't really have the right to touch her stomach... I didn't mind it, it wasn't me, but I thought, do they remember that I am under here? But when I would take it off there was a coolness about it. They would say, 'oh, it's him. I liked that other person.'
Now career wise, did you think about possibly going over the edge by playing Edna?
I am the first guy who has played an actual woman on screen, but I am not the first guy who has acted as one. There is Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Tony Curtis. This has been a done thing. The only real difference is I am actually playing a woman as opposed to drag.
What's next?
"Old Dogs" and then "Dallas" I think will be next. They kind of have to do that movie. There have been five drafts of scripts, and I am meeting tomorrow with the director. Hopefully, this director and new writer will get it right. But they want to go after the new year. I am the only one they were completely sold on, and I signed. I can't get out of it unless the dates are so far off, then I can. If there is a script that is good to do then I would be bound to that.
