| Hair Raising Success For Nikki and Zac in Hairspray |
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 Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron star in the new movie version of "Hairspray"   Nikki Blonsky at the "Hairspray" premiere in Los Angeles  Teen heartthrob Zac Efron making the girls swoon at the L.A. premiere  John Travolta as Edna Turnblad and Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray"  Michelle Pfeiffer, who stars as Velma Von Tussle, at "Hairspray" New York Premiere at the Zeigfeld Theatre  Elijah Kelley as Seaweed and Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton By matching Nikki up with the burgeoning teen heart-throb Zac Efron (from "High School Musical" fame) and film director, Adam Shankman, the producers (who accrued a surprise hit with "Chicago") scored an additional coup for this caffeine-paced, faux-period musical--a mostly-worthy successor to both the Broadway show and the original film that inspired them both, John Waters' "Hairspray." Now Blonsky and Efron are getting seen everywhere from appearances leading singalongs to the film's music to Efron's cover turn on Rolling Stone Magazine. hairspraymovie.comQ: Had you seen "Hairspray" on Broadway before you did this film? Nikki Blonsky: Yeah, really funny story. I was in my third month of callbacks during this five-and-a-half-month process, and the day after one of my callbacks I was sitting watching the Disney channel with my brother. He was watching "High School Musical" and he said, "I know they're doing a big Tracy search, but do you know who they will get to play Link?" And I said no, and I said, "Well, why don't they just get that kid? He's good looking, he sings, he dances, he acts." And wouldn't you know, a week after I got cast, I got a call saying, "You know, we just cast your boy from "High School Musical." I said, "You guys could have asked me, I could have told you that three months ago." Q: Zac, you were working but weren't quite on the radar, and then, all of a sudden, Disney's "High School Musical" explodes. Zac Efron: It's funny, we do have similar stories. I felt like, coming into "Hairspray," I had slightly more experience. In the end, of course, I learned more from this girl than I could ever share with her. But I'm very blessed. I'm glad that I'm involved with musicals because I think with the young audience that we are educating, I'm making them aware of [musicals], and hopefully making them more mainstream. You know, it could be a popular genre in the future and I would love to stay involved with them for as long as I can. Q: And for you Nikki? NB: This has been a dream come true. I saw "Hairspray" on Broadway when I was 15 years old and fell in love with it. You know, unfortunately, Broadway is just in New York, so unless you come to New York or live in New York, you [won't] get the experience of "Hairspray" on Broadway. But this is a movie that is going everywhere, so I'm so excited to bring Tracy to life and bring her views to little kids, and show them different is okay and uniqueness is beautiful. Q: You're saying that the bottom line of this film is that it's good to embrace people's differences. NB: It's about being who you are, being proud of who you are and embracing it, accepting others and accepting yourself, because you can't accept and love others until you love and accept yourself. Q: What did you two relate to the most about your characters? ZE: Oh gosh, I wish I could relate to Link. At the beginning, he's a fun character to play. He's a little bit shallow and enjoying the limelight of being a star on a local daytime TV show, so there wasn't much I could relate to Link. I guess it was that he loved dancing and singing, and that was always something I loved doing growing up. That was my outlet. NB: I was just a 17-year-old girl with a big dream, and Tracy is just a 17-year-old with a big dream. We both just wanted to be out there dancing and singing and performing, and we just wanted people to believe in us. [Director] Adam Shankman was my Corny Collins, he believed with me. ZE: Their stories are so similar when you look at it. As far as I'm concerned, Nikki is a real-life Tracy. It's great, such a pleasure. Q: What were you doing before that prepared you for this? NB: I was doing my high school shows. Honestly, my high school was the only high school in the country that does a fully worked, orchestrated opera every year. We took on very large shows like "Sweeney Todd" and "Carmen." I got to play Carmen and Mrs. Lovett. These were roles that really required a lot of time and dedication. I mean, we did a fully orchestrated three-hour opera in French. Not a lot of high schools [do that]. Q: Which high school? NB: I went to the Great Neck Village School, which is an alternative high school. You can do your sports or your theater at either of the other two high schools. so I went to Great Neck South High School to do my theater. Q: Where did you go to high school, Zac? ZE: I went to Arroyo Grande High School in central California. Q: No singing or dancing there? ZE: Well, I did lots of community theater, that's how I got started, really. That's why it was a pleasure to come back and do a musical, because it's really how I fell in love with performing, through musicals. I wasn't so much involved in my high school. But there were various community theater and very professional theater houses that I loved to perform at, and I was blessed enough to get cast in plays there. Q: What was your high school experience like--was it comfortable? Because high school can be really weird. ZE: Mine was relatively average, because I was a good student. I tried to get really good grades, and I did--I left my high school my junior year, with like a 4.3. I was a great student. I was so focused on academics that I really didn't have time to worry about the pressures of high school. It really was not a tough time for me. Q: You played the nicest guy in the film, basically, the hip guy in school who approached the girl who didn't really fit in. ZE: That's what I loved about the past few characters I got to play--like Troy Bolton from "High School Musical," but also Link. You enjoy their characters because they are nice guys, and that's what you don't find in high school. Most of the popular kids are jerks. That's the thing with Link. When he meets Tracy, you see a real character come through and you see him take control. I think that's magical, [that] she brings out the best in everyone. NB: My high school experience was a great one. That's when I got into theater and I started performing. It was a great experience for me. Middle school and elementary school, however, not so much. I was teased a lot. I had a lot of Ambers in my life, so I know what it's like. When Tracy is made fun of by Amber and Wilma, I know what it's like. It was easy for me to tap into those emotions. Q: So Tracy, if you could now turn around to Amber and say... NB: You know, it's funny. I've gone home now and see a lot of those girls. Everybody deserves a second chance, so I'm talking to them, and I know who my real friends are. Q: Well, you'll be moving out of Great Neck soon enough. NB: Don't tell my mother [laughs]. Q: You probably already have your agents in place. NB: I'm working with William Morris here in New York City, and I'm very excited. New York City is one of the best places to be. Q: Where did you study dance? NB: Nowhere. I learned I was not a dancer before "Hairspray." So all the dancing you see in the movie, I just shook what my mamma gave me. ZE: My mamma didn't give me anything, so I just shook what I had. Q: Seeing how you wear your hair now, how did it feel for you to wear it in a '50s style like that big beehive? ZE: It's great! Actually, I get to go brag around now, because I did change a little bit to play Link. I gained 15 pounds. That was fun for me, but of course now I get to run and talk about it, pretend how dedicated I am. NB: My hair was very big, but I love my hair! It was the first time I ever reached 5 feet because I'm 4'10". It was the final piece for Tracy, the final way of getting into that character and letting her emerge. Q: How long did it take you to put on? NB: It took us about an hour and a half to get it all ratted up and perfectly round. Q: If this movie makes 100 million bucks, and you made a sequel and we were living in a perfect world, what would you want or expect for the two characters? ZE: Oh my gosh--I can't imagine, that would be so much fun. NB: That would be amazing! I think it would be fun to see them together. Q: Married? NB: Wow! ZE: Like 20 years down the road, Tracy is making sandwiches for Link. NB: I don't know, I think anything with this cast would be great. |