Hairspray

John Travolta playing Edna Turnblad continued the tradition of Divine, a drag queen diva in the 1988 original, and Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway musical. New Line Cinema initially considered comedic actors such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks, but producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron actively cast Travolta.

Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as Velma Von Tussle at John Travolta's request. Travolta appeared in Grease and Pfeiffer in Grease 2, and having the two perform together on screen was considered special by the filmmakers.

Aretha Franklin was originally considered for the role of 'Motormouth' Maybelle, but Queen Latifah was ultimately cast.

Nikki Blonski was selected for the role of Tracy Turnblad through auditions from over 1,100 applicants, and this film was her acting debut. Working at Cold Stone Creamery at the time, she heard the casting news directly from director Adam Shankman.

Hayden Panettiere was considered for the role of Amber Von Tussle, but due to her commitment to appear in the NBC drama Heroes, Britney Snow was ultimately cast.

John Travolta requested that Christopher Walken be considered for the role of Wilbur Turnblad, and Walken won the part over Billy Crystal and Jim Broadbent.

Hugh Jackman, who appeared with Joey McIntyre in X-Men, was considered for the role of Corny Collins, but James Marsden was cast.

Zac Efron was famous for the Disney Channel film High School Musical, so director Adam Shankman initially thought he was 'too Disney.' However, his sister and executive producer Jennifer Gibgot persuaded him that Zac could attract teenage audiences, and he was cast.

Although the film is set in Baltimore, filming took place primarily in Toronto and Hamilton, Canada, which had well-equipped sound stages for musical filming. Actual Baltimore only appears in the opening scene with clouds descending and the scene where a newspaper falls down the stairs.

Because John Travolta had a leaner frame compared to other actresses who played Edna, he wore a large fat suit that required four hours of makeup before each day of shooting. The suit was constructed in layers of lightweight synthetic material and silicone and also solved the problem of Travolta's facial hair growing through the makeup.

Director Adam Shankman drew inspiration for Edna's dancing style from the hippopotamus ballerina in the 'Nutcracker Suite' sequence in the Disney animated film Fantasia.

The popular Broadway musical song 'Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now,' which depicts three mothers and daughters in conflict, could not be adapted for the film without using split-screen, so it was excluded from the movie. However, an special version was recorded for the end credits featuring Ricki Lake from the 1988 original as Tracy, Marissa Jaret Winokur from the Broadway premiere, and Nikki Blonski singing together.

Tracy's ballad solo 'I Can Wait,' newly composed for the film, was shot but deleted from the final theatrical release and only released as a bonus track for iTunes soundtrack pre-order customers and as a DVD special feature.

The overhead shot descending from the sky in the film's opening combines the opening scenes of West Side Story and The Sound of Music, and the scene where Link sings with Tracy's photograph in 'Without Love' was inspired by the MGM musical Broadway Melody of 1938, where young Judy Garland sings while looking at a photograph of Clark Gable.

Upon release, LGBTQ journalist Kevin Naf called for a boycott of the film because John Travolta is a Scientologist, but director Adam Shankman countered that many members of the production, including himself, John Waters, Marc Shaiman, and Scott Wittman, are gay and that Travolta's personal beliefs did not influence the filming.

Bolstered by box office success, New Line Cinema commissioned John Waters to write a sequel script, and director Adam Shankman and composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman were set to return. However, John Travolta refused to appear in the sequel, and the sequel was ultimately cancelled in 2010.