I have had the most fun just playing this part. (Penny) is this very bubbly, perky girl, who’s very innocent.
I loved working with Queen Latifah! Everybody loves her. She is so down-to-earth, you would have no idea she’s a humongous, famous movie star.
(John Travolta) has been so fun to work with, singing Saturday Night Fever, or dancing and doing Grease songs with all of us. John said, ‘you guys are the new us.’
The thing about John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, is he still looks like John Travolta. He has these piercing blue eyes and he has this sweetness- same sort of smile, but he just looks like this glamorous woman.
It takes - at least an hour everyday. We set my hair in curlers, and then we sort of straighten it, and curl it, and pin it and a lot of hair spray is used in the making of (my) ‘do.
When my Mom and Dad came to set, because my Dad’s a dentist, they were so freaked out. My Dad was like, ‘Are you actually eating those!?’ and I was like, ‘Nooo.’ - and I was actually eating every one of them.
Amanda Bynes and Shia LaBeouf: These graduates of kids’ television have displayed impressive talent on the big screen. LaBeouf, who shows real depth along with fine comic timing, could both play into and help calibrate Bynes’ wacky approach. Think about it: Bynes and LaBeouf. Not quite Tracy and Hepburn or Lunt and Fontanne, but it still sounds great once you learn to pronounce “LaBeouf.”
Details are still being ironed out, but plans call for a major Hollywood-style bash when Hairspray has its Baltimore premiere at the Charles on July 18, two days before opening throughout the country.
Members of the cast and crew will be on hand, and the public will have a chance to attend the premiere, with proceeds benefiting AIDS Action Baltimore and Baltimore Homeless Services.
The style is cooler here, it's chic, so much more put together. It's tougher because at any moment you have to be able to walk fifteen blocks. I really want to move here — that's my secret. I'm looking!
I was singing 'Grease Lightning' with John Travolta when he was dressed up
in a lady getup 'cause he's playing a woman in the movie. So that was really
cool to be singing a favorite song of mine with him."
Kelly: Who's Bob Hope?
Michael: God. He's a comedian.
Kelly: Oh, like Amanda Bynes.
Michael: Who's Amanda Bynes?
Kelly: She's from What A Girl Wants.
Michael; Oh, I love that movie. Yes, Kelly is right. The person to replace me has to have a great sense of humor and they have to possess the leadership qualities of a Bynes or a Hope.
The exclusive collection, called Dear, will feature 120 pieces of clothing, 28 accessory styles (bags, shoes, belts, cold-weather items), and 70 pieces of jewelry. It will reflect Bynes' personal sense of style and comfort and will hit Steve & Barry's stores on August 10. The good news for all you budget-loving fashionistas is that all items will retail at $20 or below!
The 200-unit chain specializing in university logo sweatshirts and licensed clothing has signed a deal with actress Amanda Bynes, who will create an exclusive collection of apparel and accessories, which is being launched in stores on August 10.
After over 65 years of existence with only the slightest change in their design, the Riverdale gang gets a complete makeover. The typical, cartoon-ish art style is replaced by something more hip, modern and realistic. Betty resembles movie star Amanda Bynes, Veronica resembles Anne Hathaway and their clothes appear to be taken directly from the pages of Teen Vogue.
That is really nice when they are nice. When they are not so nice, it's not nice.
The short musical number featured Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, Zac Efron as Link Larkin and Nicole Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. The three did several takes of a scene in which they jump out of a school bus and watch Seaweed J. Stubbs (Elijah Kelley) sing and dance.
Pingleton is so enthralled by the performance, she faints.
The brief scene, directed by Adam Shankman (Cheaper by the Dozen), took more than five hours to complete. A busy block of Dundas Street West in Toronto was shut down and transformed into 1962 Baltimore.
Hairspray, a remake of the 1988 John Waters film about the desegregation of a TV dance show, was filmed in Toronto and stars John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah and James Marsden. But the real star is 17-year-old Blonsky, whose acting experience consists only of roles in a few high school musicals.
Hairspray pumped millions into Toronto’s economy. Budgeted at over $50 million (U.S.), the film was produced by the same team as the Oscar-winning Chicago (which was also filmed in Toronto). It's in cinemas this summer.
I've done a variety of reviews on a number of teen-related shows during my time on 411mania. You might remember my reviews of The O.C. and Degrassi. I continue that tradition with my review of What I Like About You. Since I can remember, I've always had a certain fondness for teen drama. It's probably my favorite form of television. Where else can you see attractive people going through problems while pop music plays in the background? Plus, I think the teenage years are always interesting and complex. It's that complex period where you are forced to grow up in a hurry. If not, you might get left behind. That being said, I don't enjoy all teen drama. Some of it can be phony and fake. I can point to a number of MTV shows to prove my point. We need characters that are likable, interesting, and fun to be around.
Thankfully, What I Like About You features all of the above.
What I Like About You is aided by its fantastic ensemble cast. Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth have fantastic chemistry on screen together. Bynes is a skilled physical comic. If you haven't seen it already, I recommend that you check out She's the Man. It's a lot of fun.
The Broadway adaptation "Hairspray" presents something wildly different: John Travolta in drag as an overweight Baltimore housewife, a role originated by Divine in the 1980s cult film that inspired the stage version.
"Hairspray" also is unique as this summer's one big musical, a genre reborn in recent years with hits such as "Chicago" and "Dreamgirls."
"It's like the Western or science fiction. You just have to do them well and people will want to see them," Travolta said. "People just have more tolerance for comedy and drama not done well, but musicals you have to do full-blast, everyone on their best game, their A-plus game. Then you can pull it off."
As she does in "Stardust," Pfeiffer plays the villain of "Hairspray," the story of a plump teen who leads a fight to integrate a TV dance show in the 1960s.
