Adam Shankman

Emmanuel Itier: How challenging and scary was it to make this film and to follow the footsteps of John Waters? Also, what is Hairspray truly about for you?

Adam Shankman: Hairspray is about living with no fear and celebrating yourself. It’s about loving and accepting yourself, no matter what. It’s about not being afraid to do great thing–to fight for what you think is right. Just because there are a lot of reasons around you pressuring you and putting you down, you need to stand up for yourself. Stepping into the shoes of John Waters wasn’t such a problem because, when I got the job and I was terrified by what John was going to think about me directing, he said, “Make a good movie,” and he asked me to not copy him. So I had no pressure because he really freed me and told me to do what I wanted to do to make the story work. It’s about being yourself, and therefore it’s perfect because I can tell the story my own way. I felt empowered by John Waters, and it’s great because it’s all based on real facts and real people that John experienced.

EI: Was the main challenge to put John Travolta in the “skin” of a woman?

AS: The main challenge was scheduling rehearsal with all the actors, dancers, performers…pfff! One hundred fifty dancers and 85 principals–you can imagine the enormous logistic! To get John was a conversation. He had been approached by the producers for over a year, and he was hesitant. He was hesitating because he had been in Grease, which was the biggest musical ever and a huge role for him–an iconic role. So he was wondering how he could compete with his character, Danny, from Grease, and I told him that the only way he could do that was to play a woman in Hairspray. And he replied, “Interesting!” And then we figured it out and, voilà! Once I had the clear idea about what I wanted to do and we figured out all the “technical” problems, he agreed to be in it. It wasn’t a lot of work but a long process to get him on board.

EI: The movie is about going for the dream. Do you think it’s hard to keep dreaming in this cynical and depressing world we live in? What is your current dream?

AS: People forget to experience joy because we live in such a stressful world. We’re constantly reminded about these kinds of apocalyptic events, and that’s global. My dream right now would be for a lot of people see Hairspray because it would make them feel happy and remind them to stand up for the right things and do the right things–and not live in an environment of fear.