A bit of musical theater advice: If you live in or near New York or are planning to visit in the next month, and you have not seen Hairspray on Broadway, now is the time. The six-and-a-half year Broadway run ends on Jan. 4, 2009. To send it out in style, Harvey Fierstein is reprising his role as Edna Turnblad, and Marissa Jaret Winokur, the original Broadway Tracy Turnblad, returns next week to close out the show.

However, it seems the end of the Broadway run won’t stop the beat. Apparently, we can expect Hairspray 2: Electric Boogaloo in 2010. According to Adam Shankman, director of the movie version of the Broadway musical (not to be confused with the original John Waters film), there’s a concept and an outline, and it’s “going out to writers.”

In the Hairspray sequel, Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) and company will deal with the next wave of '60s music and '60s politics, and Link (Zac Efron) will “channel his inner Austin Powers.”

My first reaction is pretty much summed up in an article I found titled, “Hairspray 2: Why, God, Why?”

Is a sequel really a good idea? Have there been any good movie musical sequels? The Disney musical sequels have all gone direct to video. Did The Muppet Movie sequels even have songs? And as much as I love Grease 2 — and I love it very, very much — I would never argue that it’s actually a good movie. … continue reading

A few weeks ago, we reported that Marlee Matlin will be on the new season of Dancing With the Stars.

It seemed strange to me at first — not because she's deaf, but because she just doesn't seem like the reality TV type, whatever that is — but this video makes me think she'll be pretty adorable on the show.

"I must have been drunk that morning." Heh.

If only she could keep Nancy O'Dell (or another woman with a grabbable booty) as her dance partner! But her partner on the show will be Fabian Sanchez, aka the 2006 U.S. Mambo Champion. He's not half as lovely as Jennifer Beals, which I suppose goes without saying. Here's another clip of Fabian and Marlee, this time on Entertainment Tonight. … continue reading

Who wants to play house — Dollhouse, that is? The ambitious new Joss Whedon/Eliza Dushku sci-fi series is currently casting its principal characters.

Eliza plays Echo, one of the living “Dolls,” a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages — from past memories to physical abilities and language skills — for different assignments. After each assignment, their memories are erased, and they all live together in a dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse. The show will follow Echo’s burgeoning self-awareness and how it affects everyone around her. … continue reading

Olivia Wilde is going to play Jack Black’s love interest in the new biblical-times comedy The Year One. I am going to let the full weight of that news sink in while you stare at a picture of Olivia. Please, take your time. I’ll wait.

And, for comparison, here is Jack Black.

OK, now side by side.

So, yeah, what’s wrong with this picture? God, could there be a better example of the schlubby guy/hottie girl formula that has become the on-screen Hollywood couple du jour? I’ve railed (and railed) against these pairings for what seems like forever now. It’s not just the aesthetic that bothers me. Heaven knows a book is more, so much more, than its cover. But it’s the inequity of this equation that infuriates me. Where are the schlubby girl/hottie guy movies? And, since we’re dreaming big, how about the schlubby girl/hottie girl flicks? … continue reading

The Golden Globes have been canceled, but the the writers’ strike didn’t prevent the live broadcast of the Critics' Choice Awards from pressing on last night. But the strike it did have its effects. Many winners noted that they were speaking off the cuff because they wanted to respect the strike and did not write speeches.

Host D.L. Hughley’s commentary was incredibly awkward, and it seemed that all his jokes were about race. Probably the oddest comment of the night for me came when Hughley dubbed Brad Pitt an “honorary black person” for seemingly no reason. And several times Hughley told the crowd that they needed to lighten up and laugh once in a while.

Despite that, there were many bright spots during the evening. For one, it seemed that every two minutes Pitt and AfterEllen.com’s No. 2 hottie, Angelina Jolie, were on the screen, looking just as fabulous as ever.

Additionally, there were some fantastic female winners throughout the evening.

Nikki Blonsky, breakout star of Hairspray, won the award for Best Young Actress.

Blonsky shared the award for Best Acting Ensemble with the rest of the Hairspray cast, which includes Queen Latifah (AfterEllen.com Hot 100 No. 55), Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow and, of course, John Travolta in drag. … continue reading

Last night’s Teen Choice Awards could have been called the More Evidence That High School Musical Is Taking Over the Universe Awards. But I guess that would be too long to fit on the trophies. While South of Nowhere lost the Choice Breakout TV show award to Heroes, fellow AfterEllen.com reader favorite Degrassi won the Choice Summer TV award. See the complete list of winners here. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I did not watch the show. I’m so far out of the teen demographic that to tune in would have been mildly creepy. However, I have no problem scanning the pictures afterward. Voyeurism, journalism — it’s a thin line. And with that, I give you my completely unprofessional, randomly snarky thoughts on the stars of the Teen Choice Awards.

Hilary Duff and Eve: Is this too much back and front for these ladies to be showing at a show for teenagers, or am I just a being a prude?

Ashley Jensen and America Ferrera: These two are causing me to have some decidedly R-rated thoughts during an entirely PG-rated show.

… continue reading

Hairspray sang and danced its way onto the big screen this past weekend to great reviews and strong box office (No. 3 behind I Now Pronounce You Dumb & Dumber Chuck & Larry and Harry Potter, with the largest opening take for a musical on record). And, according to the Associated Press, its filmmakers hope its success will herald a new acceptance of plus-size women in Hollywood. You hear that, aspiring starlets? You can all stop gorging yourself on ice cubes and Diet Coke, because big is back. If only.

As welcome as the notion may be, I sincerely doubt that Hollywood will begin embracing its Rubenesque side anytime soon. While Nikki Blonsky and Queen Latifah are Hairspray’s beautiful bombshells, they are the curvaceous exceptions to the rule right now. … continue reading

On Monday, various luminaries attended the premiere of Hairspray in L.A., including the always brilliant Queen Latifah. Latifah plays Motormouth Maybelle, and she was still wearing her character's dazzling blonde hair at the premiere:

Holy platinum pate! And holy, uh, other stuff. Here are some more photos of the Queen at the premiere: … continue reading