„Versuch’s! Wer etwas erreichen will,
muss klotzen, nicht kleckern.“
(Wilbur zu Tochter Tracy)
Adam Shankman's adaptation of the stage musical
Hairspray, itself an adaptation of the non-musical John Waters film of
the same name, stars Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, an overweight
high-school student whose only dream is to be on a local Baltimore teen
dance program. While her father (Christopher Walken) tells her to follow
her dreams, her mother Edna (John Travolta in drag) reminds her that she
doesn't look like the girls on that show. After impressing the show's
host (James Marsden), Tracy earns a coveted spot on the program, but
when she becomes a popular addition to the cast, she earns the wrath of
the prettiest girl in school -- a girl whose mother (Michelle Pfeiffer)
just happens to operate the local television station. Tracy's visit to
detention hall opens her eyes to the racial tension on the show, as does
the budding relationship between her best friend (Amanda Bynes) and an
African-American boy named Seaweed (Elijah Kelley). Thus empowered,
Tracy attempts to integrate the races on her favorite program. ~ Perry
Seibert, All Movie Guide Walken plays Wilbur
Turnblad, the lead’s father. “This part that I have in a strange way is a
part that I’ve wanted to play,” Walken told Collider.com in an interview. “A
husband, a father, a good guy, a man with a business and all that stuff. His
own house, like a wholesome type man.”
Walken is already well-known for his tap dancing. “Hairspray,” however,
features Walken in 60’s inspired musical theater choreography. Die sechziger
Jahre waren in Sachen Style und Musik ein wildes Jahrzehnt. Im
beschaulichen Baltimore haben Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) und Penny nur zwei
Sachen im Kopf: wie hoch sie ihre Haare toupieren können und die „Corny
Collins Show“. Die Schule ist ihnen egal, im Leben gibt es für sie nur
die tanzenden Paare, allen voran Link, den Schulschwarm, der mit seiner
zickigen Freundin Amber auftritt. Ambers Mutter, Ex-Schönheitskönigin,
ist die intrigante Managerin des Senders, die alles versucht, damit ihre
Tochter im Rampenlicht steht und immer die Führende im Wettbewerb um
„Miss Teenage Hairspray“ ist.
Tracy und Penny tanzen immer wild vor dem Fernseher mit, und eigentlich
kann Tracy viel besser tanzen als die hübsche Amber. Tracy aber ist
ziemlich moppelig. Zu moppelig, um am kurz bevorstehenden Casting
teilzunehmen, befürchtet gut gemeint ihre Mutter. Sie geht trotzdem hin
und kann alle von ihren Tanzkünsten überzeugen, besonders Link. Die
Managerin aber natürlich nicht, die sie demütigt und fortschickt.
Tracy gibt immer noch nicht auf, und ein wahrer Fankult tut sich um sie
auf. Das stört besonders Ambers Mutter, die befürchtet, den nahenden
Contest zu verlieren.
Tracy indessen setzt sich dafür ein, dass die Schwarzen der Stadt
gleichberechtigt an der Show teilnehmen können. Doch sie muss noch
einige Hindernisse überwinden, bis sie ihre Träume erreicht.
“Dancing is from when I was a kid,”
Walken reveals. “When I was a kid it
was very typical, the part of New York I come from, very typical for
people to send their kids to dancing school. And my parents did, and a
lot of people, not just people in show business. Tap class, acrobatics,
the girls took ballet, you know. And I think when that's in you from the
time you're a kid, it stays.”
In Hairspray, he plays John Travolta’s husband – and he
still can’t help but laugh a little whenever he says that. In the film,
Travolta dons a fat suit and a dress to play Edna Turnblad, the wife of
Walken’s Wilbur and the mother of the main character. “John really is a
very good dancer, so dancing with him was a pleasure,” Walken says,
completely earnestly. “John and I worked on the dances and stuff for
weeks, and we got along great. And then John put on that outfit, and for
five minutes it was strange. But then it was just John, and we'd already
gotten to know each other and we'd already gotten to like each other; it
was just Chris and John having a nice time.”
Walken is one of today’s busiest actors, averaging three to four
movies every year. Cynics among us might say the man lacks discretion,
but he’s open about his choices. “I do turn down scripts, but I'm pretty
easy,” he says with a grin. And his reasons couldn’t be simpler: “I like
to work. I don't do a lot of things, I don't have hobbies and things,
and I like to go to work. “I also don't really bother with whether or not it's going to be any
good,” he says bluntly. “I usually just think about who's in it, the
director of course, you know, who do you want to be with, who do you want to
work with because you're comfortable.” In this department he found Hairspray to be just the ticket.
“Adam Shankman's a wonderful director, I didn't know him, but,
he's not only good at what he does, he has a very nice atmosphere on the
set. And stuff like that. I have done movies sometimes just on account
of the location. 'Oh yeah, I'd like to go there.'”
For Hairspray, which is set in 1962,
it wasn’t the location that drew Walken, but the period. “For me, the
movie's a lot about a very important time… When this movie was
happening, I would've been right out of high school, and it was a
fascinating time in America, with Vietnam. Cars had big things. People
really did do a lot of stuff with their hair. It was a time of huge
hair.
“And then there was all the racial strife, and the segregation,” he
continues. “And people really did march in the thousands, singing.
That's not [only] this movie, people really did do that. I suppose a lot
of the things go on today, but it's a different context. I don't think
ten thousand people march and sing at the same time, you don't see that
anymore.” Does he think people have changed? “No, we're still the same
people, we're just doing things differently. Maybe it's the internet.
You know.” He smiles and shrugs. (...)
Walken’s comedic skills likewise seem to come naturally. Contrary to
what one might expect, he doesn’t try a lot of different things on set
and gives a pretty consistent performance from take to take. “I do
everything the same way. I'm much more probably needy about my lines
than other people. I need to have my lines, I need to know them. I've
always got a problem if they come at the last minute and if they change
them, which in the movies happens a lot. That's kind of my nemesis.”
Link
The eccentric actor
talks about his upcoming role...as a nice guy?
There's just something
about
Christopher Walken. I mean, everyone knows he is unusual--saying
that is just restating the obvious. But beyond his distinctly curious
speech cadences and predilection for the most unusual bad-guy roles,
Walken has the singular ability to inspire fan worship--among men in
particular--in a way few others can. Seriously, what man can't quote the
watch monologue from
Pulp Fiction? You're thinking of it now, aren't you?
When he walked into the
room for the
Hairspray press junket, I noticed several things about him
right away. Number one: He is scary. Not like grossly misshapen or
threatening to pound your face into a pulp scary, but something about
him is just intimidating--to the point that all the journalists (who
were previously relaxed and joke-y with the likes of Michelle
Pfeiffer and
John Travolta) all but snapped to attention and called him, 'sir.'
There is just something about his bearing and the way he looks at you
that makes you think that if you wander off your best behavior and upset
him, he may kill you.
Second, he has a
frightening amount of hair. It is obscenely healthy and full--rising off
his head in some sort of a 2" flat top that would be shocking on a man
of my age, let alone of his.
And third, he is oddly
humble--about himself, his job, and his success. In Hairspray,
Walken plays Wilbur Turnblad, father of fat-but-sassy protagonist Tracy
Turnblad (Nikki
Blonsky) and husband of oversized, agoraphobic laundry mistress Edna
Turblad (a be-dragged John Travolta). Wilbur is nothing if not a good
guy--perhaps a little clueless at times, but an absolutely loving
husband and father. Not your usual Walken typecasting, but a role he was
eager for nonetheless. "This part that I have in a strange way is a part
that I’ve wanted to play," says Walken. "A husband, a father, a good
guy, a man with a business and all that stuff. His own house, like a
wholesome type man. Ozzie and Harriet. And this part really is
the closest to that I’ve ever played. You know, it’s a bizarre family,
but it’s a pretty nice family."
Walken has the bulk of
his scenes with Blonsky and Travolta, but unlike most of his other
Hairspray costars, he was pretty unphased by seeing Travolta decked
out as Edna--even though they had a big dance number together. "It was
always John in the rehearsals. And then he put that outfit on, and for
five minutes, I had to think about it," Walken explains. "But after
that, I just looked at him and it was still John. It was John with this
thing on. So he and I treated each other, it was more like Chris talking
to John than Wilbur and Edna."
One of the most
imitated men in show business, Walken is blissfully unaware of all the
impressions of him out there in the ether, saying only "I like it, I
think it’s cool." Travolta even did a Walken impression for the press
during our interview with him earlier in the day, but Walken claimed to
have never seen him do it before. "Maybe he’s done it and I didn’t
realize it. Yeah, a lot of people do that. I don’t really know why, but
it’s okay with me."
And although he has a
lot of great things to say about his fellow actors (he called Blonsky
"amazing" and Pfeiffer a "world class singer") and clearly commands the
respect of everyone in the room, Walken is very understated about his
own talent. "To be honest, I was never very ambitious. And I still am
not," he said of his decades-long career in Hollywood. "It’s astonishing
to me how well I’ve done. I became an actor by accident."
So is the key to his
success laboriously picking his roles? Not so much. "My agent sends me
the script and I usually just look at my own lines," Walken says. "And
then I think, ‘Could I say that?’ If I read it, mumble it to myself, if
I have no idea what the script is about, but if I mumble the lines to
myself and it’s okay, I usually say ‘Yeah, I could do that.’"
Walken remained mum on
any upcoming projects that might be in the pipeline, theorizing that at
his age, opportunities might dry up. "Sometimes when you’re an actor you
get put out to pasture," he joked. "They put you on an ice flow. Or it’s
the old actors’ home in Jersey. Where you eat bologna sandwiches on
white bread.Link
(click
to enlarge)
MoviesOnline: How was it dancing with John Travolta?
Christopher Walken: We
rehearsed that for a long time. You know, for weeks. But then, when John
had that big suit on, and heels, we knew it so well that when we came to
shoot it, we did that very fast. I think it was very fast. But we knew,
we’d done it so many times.
MoviesOnline: What was the
process like during rehearsal?
Christopher Walken: When you
learn dancing, it’s a different kind of rehearsal from rehearsing
acting. It’s really repetition. And you learn the steps and then you do
them until you don’t think about them. When you go home, I had a
DVD
of it and I’d play it in my house, and I’d do the moves. And then it’s
just kind of in your bones, so it’s really more like repetition.
MoviesOnline: Was it easy
for you to forget that you were dancing with a man? Was it just this
character Edna, not John?
Christopher Walken: It was
John. It was always John in the rehearsals. And then he put that outfit
on, and for five minutes, I had to think about it. But after that, I
just looked at him and it was still John. It was John with this thing
on. So he and I treated each other, it was more like Chris talking to
John than Wilbur anda Edna.
Link
(click
to enlarge) Walken says he jumped right in once he learned who had been cast in Hairspray. “I heard the music first and I hadn’t seen the
musical, but I had seen the John Waters movie. And I had the script. You
know, it seemed like a good part. But mostly, when they say that John
Travolta is in it, Michelle Pfeiffer is in it, there’s all these really
good kids, Queen Latifah is in it… Right away you think, ‘I must pay
attention.’”
Playing John
Travolta’s Husband: Travolta dresses in drag to play Edna
Turnblad, the mother of Tracy and a supporter of equal rights for all.
Travolta lavished praise on his onscreen partner and Walken is equally
complimentary about Travolta. “It was great. It was me and John
rehearsing a few weeks for the dancing and of course, sitting around and
getting to know each other,” said Walken. “Then when it came to do it,
he put on that outfit and it was stunning to see that. But in 5 or 10
minutes, he was just John again. I think that he and I in the movie were
more Chris and John more than Wilbur and Edna. I liked him a lot and we
got along very well, and I think that comes off.”
The Styles of the 1960s: Walken’s not a huge fan of the ‘60s
fashions. “No, I like my current outfit [black blazer, black tee
under it]. But I had that clothing and outfits, sure. When this
movie happened, I would have been about 18, right about out of high
school. The cars had the big fins and the people had huge hair. Hair was
a big deal. Hair has evolved into something else. People in my
neighborhood had…everybody had big hair. Hairspray back then wasn’t pump
hairspray; it was that aerosol thing that has been banned. But that all
really was.”
Christopher Walken’s No Stranger to Dance: Walken’s been a
professional dancer since he was a teenager and has been in many
Broadway shows. With the musical genre making a comeback, Walken was
happy to get the chance to show off his dancing skills on the big
screen. “Of course,” said Walken. “They make a musical movie now every
few years. They used to make them every week in Hollywood. Absolutely,
the chance to do a movie musical is pretty rare.”
Walken doesn't sound eager to return to Broadway. “I’ve been on the
stage much more than I’ve ever been in movies, but I did that the first
35-40 years of my life. I’ve been on the stage a lot. I’ve played some
of the great roles – twice or three times. I didn’t play them well
(laughing), but I played them. I’ve learned a lot of lines in my day.
And to be honest, nowadays if you work in the theater, people are taking
your picture, they’re answering their phones. The bloom is off the rose
for me a little bit. I remember the old days… I have a friend who [went
to] a play and had good seats in the orchestra. The curtain went up and
10 minutes into the play, it was a big star in the play and hadn’t come
on yet, and this woman answers her phone and my friend heard her say,
No, he hasn’t come on yet, but when he comes on I’ll call you.’ So this
is what it is.”
Tossing in an Occasional Comedy: Walken’s not interested in
sticking to just dramatic fare. But the actor's approach to roles
doesn't differ no matter whether he’s starring in a comedy or drama.
“You know, I don’t mean to get heavy but I always thought that there was
a real serious link between what’s funny and what’s scary,” revealed
Walken. “It’s just my theory. I think that the fact is they’re related.”
Walken has a sense of humor
about himself, but he admits that sense of humor doesn’t make him
fearless. “I’m not that fearless. In fact, I’m scared of everything and
consequently I’m not really very scared of anything. But I only do that
by being very scared of everything, especially of mundane things. I get
very nervous sitting in a car; I’m the guy with the seatbelt on. I’m the
guy who says, ‘Put your seatbelt on.’ I’m the guy who doesn’t like to go
out of the hotel and wander because I’m always looking the wrong way
(laughing). I’m like that. I’m afraid of germs (laughing).Link
Tell us about your character Wilbur Turnblad in
Hairspray.
CW: I think Wilbur is a very good-natured man and doing the right thing just
comes naturally to him. He’s crazy about his wife, Edna, who is, of course,
played by John Travolta. It actually made me think I never get the girl (in
a film) and the first time I do get the girl, it’s John Travolta!
What was it like to dance with John Travolta?
CW: We rehearsed for a long time. For weeks. Then John put that big fat suit
on and heels, but we knew the moves so well we shot it in only a few takes.
Very fast. I had a DVD of the steps and I’d play it in my house. I’d do the
moves and then it’s just kind of in your bones, until you don’t think about
them anymore.
Michelle Pfeiffer also stars in Hairspray. You last working with her in
Batman Returns in 1992. Was it good filming with her again?
CW: Last time I saw her I threw her out of a window, so it was great to see
her again! I didn’t know that she’s a world-class singer. That’s really her
singing in the movie.
Link
LAS VEGAS - MARCH 14: Actor Christopher Walken poses during the photocall
for "Hairspray" at the Paris Las Vegas during 2007 ShoWest, the official
convention of the National Association of Theatre owners, March 14, 2007 in
Las Vegas, Nevada (click to enlarge)
John Travolta, the movie star veteran, and Nikki Blonsky, the new
“discovery,” are just the beginnings of what would become a truly all-star
Hairspray cast. Singing and dancing their way through the film are an
unprecedented collection of talent that ranges from Hollywood’s biggest
names to its hottest young stars.
For the characters of music-loving mom Motormouth Maybelle and the scheming
Velma Von Tussle, the filmmakers went straight to their first choices, Queen
Latifah and Michelle Pfeiffer. Both actors are big stars, beautiful women
and, thanks to some hair-raising wigs, blonde.
“Being blonde brought out a whole other side of me,” says Latifah, smiling.
“It was a side I didn’t even know I had. I mean, I’ve had my hair lightened
but never been platinum like that before…it was cool…I felt like a superhero
with all that hair. I felt powerful.”
Latifah accepted the role without ever having seen a script, based on her
previous collaborations with director/choreographer Adam Shankman (Bringing
Down the House) and Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who
executive produced Chicago, for which Latifah received Oscar®, Golden Globe
and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as
Mama Morton. “I just relied on their collective expertise, and I was very
comfortable that they were going to deliver all the things they promised…and
they did,” she says.
For Latifah, the part of Motormouth Maybelle hit close to home in many
respects, perhaps culminating in her moving and spirited performance of “I
Know Where I’ve Been.”
“Well, Maybelle and I both love music and understand the impact it can have
in people’s lives,” she says. “Music can be the energy of change, and change
can happen and will happen, but sometimes you got to help move it along. So,
the protest march in the movie was very special to me. Not only because I
get to sing a great song that Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote, but also
because I felt the spirit of my own mother coming through. She was a high
school teacher who was very inspiring to her students and her own children.
She would always encourage and empower them and let them know that the world
was theirs if they wanted it. I think Maybelle is that same type of woman.
She sees her kids and their friends as a powerful force for the future and
understands that there is always more life to live, but you have to be
willing and able to go find it. That’s what these kids in the movie do…and
they do it all through the music.”
Music and change are clearly not what drive the character of television
station manager and not-so-merry widow Velma Von Tussle, as played by
Michelle Pfeiffer, who received one of her three Academy Award® nominations
for her last singing role, Suzie Diamond, in The Fabulous Baker Boys.
“Velma is a woman on the edge,” says director/co-choreographer Adam
Shankman. “For the ex-beauty queen, life is still all about winning and
winning at all cost. That’s how she runs the TV station, and that’s how she
runs her life and her daughter Amber’s life. This is a woman who is so very
beautiful on the outside and so hideously ugly on the inside.”
“As a huge fan of Michelle’s, and especially her work in Batman Returns and
The Fabulous Baker Boys, I knew she could handle the physical, comedic and
singing elements of Velma,” says Shankman. “There was no question, though,
that she had a very daunting task in playing the villain, who is essentially
just a big racist. Michelle, however, took over the role with an unmatched
style, energy and commitment. She never tried to run away from how horrible
Velma is…she bit into it, locked her jaw and held on tight.”
“I think calling her the villain would be a very fair assessment, if not a
glaring understatement,” says Pfeiffer, laughing. “I was a bit reluctant at
first to play her. I didn’t really know how to approach such a hateful
character. Every scene I tried to humanize her and sometimes it just wasn’t
possible. So, I must give thanks to Adam. He was very collaborative and yet
always gave me a sense that he was in control and keeping the bigger picture
in mind. He was always very generous with rehearsal time and making sure I
was comfortable with the staging, but whenever I would get too ‘actor-y’ and
question ‘my motivation,’ Adam would just say ‘Honey! It’s Vaudeville!’ That
would always put me back in the place I needed to be to be Velma.”
Pfeiffer admits the singing and dancing (and baton twirling!) was much more
demanding than any of her work in Grease 2 or The Fabulous Baker Boys. “The
songs themselves are very challenging,” she says. “It was difficult for me
to find any room for interpretation because the melodies are so fast you can
barely catch your breath. Once I got through that ‘Oh my god, what have I
gotten myself into’ phase, it really was so much fun to be singing again.
And the ‘Miss Baltimore Crabs’ number really pushed my limits as to how many
different things I had to concentrate on at one time. But Brittany (Brittany
Snow, who plays Velma’s daughter, Amber) and all the wonderful young dancers
really helped to keep my spirits up. Their enthusiasm and tireless energy
was infectious and I loved working with every single one of them.”
“I think people are really going to be taken by how funny Michelle is in
this movie,” says Shankman. “If they’ve forgotten that she can sing and
dance, too, they’re in for quite a ride.”
Another casting coup was the addition of Christopher Walken, an actor
primarily known for his award-winning performances in dramatic (and oft
times villainous) film roles. In reality, Walken is a kid from Queens who
has been singing and dancing ever since he was a little boy. As a young man,
he was a chorus boy in many musicals and touring stage companies, including
a two-year stint in the classic “West Side Story.”
“I did a lot of musicals until I was about 30,” says Walken. “Then I got a
job in a play strictly as an actor and from that job I got a job in a movie,
and that’s how I ended up with a film career. It was all kind of by
accident.”
It was no accident, however, when Walken’s name was first brought up by John
Travolta, who explained that Wilbur is not only a role for a great actor,
but also for a great actor who can really sing and dance. Fortunately, the
filmmakers were all aware of Walken’s musical background, which includes his
memorable role in Pennies from Heaven and, more recently, his dance
appearance in the Spike Jonze-directed music video, “Weapon of Choice.”
“John’s suggestion to get Chris was brilliant,” says producer Craig Zadan.
“He was that triple-threat performer we needed to play Wilbur, and because
he is such an incredible dancer, Adam Shankman was able to expand on the
musical number ‘Timeless to Me.’ In the Broadway show it is just a song sung
between Wilbur and Edna, but Adam created an extraordinarily special
song-and-dance performed by two real song-and-dance men, and it is truly one
of the highlights of the movie.”
“Chris Walken is like a human novelty shop,” says Shankman. “He is quirky,
original and always full of surprises. He brought an enormous amount of
off-center wonder to the character. He and John were so committed to their
‘relationship’ that you honestly believe they truly love each other as
husband and wife. So in choreographing ‘Timeless to Me,’ I knew I had two of
the greatest movie musical talents who could handle the steps and the
fantasy concept and help me illustrate the greater scope of Wilbur and
Edna’s love. It is a love that goes beyond their house and backyard into a
world where great romance is found. It’s a crazy concept but their work
together makes it one of the sweetest moments in the film.”
Did you think you'd ever be kissing John
Travolta?
Christopher Walken: I don't think we actually kiss. Almost. A little bit.
It was a little peck on the cheek. It was sweet.
Christopher Walken: They cut the kiss because it turned into an X-rated
scene. We had to have a PG.
Were you feeling up the costume, or what?
Christopher
Walken: (Laughs hysterically for a minute) No. It was a pleasure. When John
and I worked together, we rehearsed a long time on that dance. And he was
always John. And he was very fit. He's playing this big woman, I wondered,
"Why do you have to be so fit?" But then when we were shooting, I
understood. This was a huge thing, this costume. And he was in high heels.
It was like carrying a mattress. He had to be very strong underneath that.
When I saw him in it, I was awe struck. But a few minutes later, when I
looked at him again, it was just John under there. I never thought of him as
Edna. I just thought of us as Chris and John. For a moment I was shocked.
When he walked on, and there were all the people in the movie. It was really
something. But after five or ten minutes, it was just John.
Were you a little nervous about taking this part?
Christopher Walken: I don't think so. No. I was fine. I hear that John was
the one that initiated me being in the film. But once they asked me, I was
fine with it.
How did you and Travolta get so close?
Christopher Walken: We were together rehearsing, and I like him very much. I
think we just like each other. That's just lucky. We weren't pals. I didn't
know him. But when we would work, we got along very good. I think you can
see that.
BostonNOW:
What's it like to do a big dance number with John Travolta as a woman being
your dancing partner?
Christopher Walken: We rehearsed for weeks, but in rehearsal John was just
John. Then we go to shoot it on the soundstage and there was a moment when
he showed up in his full body costume he was this big stunning woman, but
only for about five minutes. Then he was just John with this thing on.
BN: He said he instantly thought of you for the movie because you're both
Broadway hoofers at heart. Do you agree?
CW: Sure. I've been a song and dance man all my life. At my age, to be able
to do a musical is unusual. Nowadays, they don't make many musicals. There
was a time when Hollywood made musicals every week. Now music videos take
the place of all that.
BN: Do you think there's an audience for a musical like Hairspray?
CW: I've made a lot of movies and I have no idea why anybody goes to see
them.
BN: You dance and sing, but as the owner of a joke shop in the movie, you
have to be funny, too. Do you have a theory for comedy?
CW: It's hard to say. Comedy is very difficult to explain. Sometimes things
are just funny. You can't figure it out.
Travolta asked that his Pulp Fiction co-star Walken be
cast as Wilbur. He reasoned that since they'd both done Broadway summer
theatre in their early days, they'd waddle well together.
Walken is flattered, but admits he's not entirely sure why Travolta wanted
him.
"I hardly talk to him, except when we worked. But when we were together, we
got along very good. And I think you can see that."
Der erfahrene Filmstar
John Travolta und Neuentdeckung Nikki Blonsky standen am Anfang einer Besetzungsphase, die schließlich ein
absolutes Star-Ensemble vor den Hairspray-Kameras
versammelte. Noch nie gab es eine derartige Ansammlung von Talenten, die
durch einen Film tanzen und singen - von Hollywoods Schwergewichten bis zu
den angesagtesten Jungstars.
(...) Ein weiterer Besetzungscoup gelang, als Christopher Walken zum Team stieß, der vor allem
für seine preisgekrönten Rollen in dramatischen Filmen bekannt ist, in denen
er oft als Bösewicht auftritt. Doch der in Queens geborene Walken hat schon
als Kind getanzt und gesungen. Als Jugendlicher sang er im Chor vieler
Musicals und Tournee-Ensembles mit - allein zwei Jahren war er mit dem
Klassiker „West Side Story“ unterwegs.
„Bis ich etwa 30 Jahre
alt war, bin ich oft in Musicals aufgetreten“, sagt Walken. „Dann ergatterte ich eine normale Schauspielerrolle in
einem Stück, wodurch ich eine Filmrolle bekam, und so begann meine
Filmkarriere - eher zufällig.“
Kein Zufall war es allerdings, dass John Travolta Walkens Namen ins Spiel brachte,
denn er wusste genau, dass die Rolle des Wilbur nicht nur einen guten
Schauspieler erfordert - er muss auch singen und tanzen können. Zum Glück
kannten auch die Filmemacher Walkens musikalische Leistungen, zu denen seine
unvergessliche Rolle in Pennies from Heaven - Tanz in
den Wolken und kürzlich sein Tanz in dem von Spike
Jonze inszenierten Musikvideo „Weapon of Choice“ von Fatboy Slim zählen.
„Dass John Chris
vorschlug, war genial“, sagt Produzent Craig Zadan. „Chris gehört zu der Generation, die Wilbur entspricht,
und weil er ein so hervorragender Tänzer ist, konnte Adam Shankman die
Musiknummer ,Timeless to Me‘ sogar noch ausbauen. In der Broadway-Show wird
der Song von Wilbur und Edna einfach nur gesungen. Doch hier kreiert Adam
eine ganz außergewöhnliche Song/Tanzeinlage, die von zwei echten Sängern und
Tänzern dargeboten wird - wirklich eines der Highlights des Films.“
„Chris Walken kommt mir
vor wie ein Laden, in dem man unendlich stöbern kann“, sagt Shankman.
„Er hat seine Eigenarten, ist ein echtes Original und immer für
Überraschungen gut. Er näherte sich der Figur auf sehr ungewöhnliche Weise.
Er und John konzentrierten sich derart auf ihre ,Beziehung‘, dass man ihnen
wirklich glaubt, sie führten eine liebevolle Ehe als Mann und Frau. Bei der
Choreografie zu ,Timeless to Me‘ standen mir also zwei der begabtesten
Musical-Stars zur Verfügung, die nicht nur ihre Tanzschritte beherrschen,
sondern auch das Fantasy-Ambiente der Situation im Auge behalten - so
illustrieren wir Wilburs und Ednas Liebe auf einer übergeordneten Ebene:
Diese Liebe überschreitet die Grenzen ihres Hauses und Gartens - sie lebt in
der Welt der großen Romanzen. Das Konzept ist völlig verrückt, aber durch
die Leistung der beiden entsteht einer der anrührendsten Momente des
gesamten Films.“
Christopher Walken: I didn’t know there was a Baltimore accent.
People have told me it was a good Baltimore accent, but I had no idea. Crave Online: Why does your voice fascinate people so much? Christopher Walken: I don't know. I come from a certain part of
New York. Queens. And the truth is that that's the way that people talk
there.
Crave Online: What was it like being John Travolta’s
husband? Christopher Walken: It was great. It was me and John
rehearsing a few weeks for the dancing and of course, sitting around and
getting to know each other. Then when it came to do it, he put on that
outfit and it was stunning to see that but in five or 10 minutes, he was
just John again. I think that he and I in the movie were more Chris and
John more than Wilbur and Edna. I liked him a lot and we got along very
well and I think that comes off.
Crave Online: In your song and dance with Michelle Pfeiffer, was
it hard to choreography with the props? Christopher Walken: Yeah and it was rehearsed. The props
were almost part of the dance. Whether you rehearse a dance differently
than a scene, you talk about what it is you’re talking about. When you’re
acting, it’s more like what do I want? Were are we? In a dance rehearsal,
it has a lot to do with repetition and you just do it and do it until you
don’t think about it anymore. That’s the whole point really and the props
were just part of the dance.
Crave Online: The style of the '60s is so cool, are you
drawn to that? Crave Online: No, I like my current outfit. But I had that
clothing and outfits, sure. When this movie happened, I would have been
about 18, right about out of high school. The cars had the big fins and
the people had huge hair. Hair was a big deal. Hair has evolved into
something else. People in my neighborhood, everybody had big hair.
Hairspray back then wasn’t pump hairspray. It was that aerosol thing that
has been banned. But that all really was.
Crave Online: Did you ever dance on a TV show growing up? Christopher Walken: No, but I was a professional dancer
from the time I was a teenager. I was in Broadway shows and tours.
Crave Online: Are you disappointed you haven't gotten to
dance more in movies? Christopher Walken: Of course. They make a musical movie
now every few years. They used to make them every week in Hollywood.
Absolutely, the chance to do a movie musical is pretty rare.
Crave Online: When you first got the script for Hairspray, what
kind of faith did you have in the music and your co-stars? Christopher Walken: Well, I heard the music first and I
hadn’t seen the musical, but I had seen the John Waters movie. And I had the
script. You know, it seemed like a good part. But mostly, when they say that
John Travolta is in it, Michelle Pfeiffer is in it, there’s all these really
good kids, Queen Latifah is in it, right away you think, "I must pay
attention.
Link
Take
Michelle Pfeiffer's seduction scene with Christopher Walken, for instance.
Pfeiffer's character is trying to manipulate Walken into being unfaithful to
his wife (played in the film by John Travolta), but Walken just doesn't
understand what she's up to and continues to show her joke items from his
gag shop.
"That scene was shot so late at night. Christopher and I were so tired but
he was so ridiculous and I had to stay straight. At one point, I looked
around, and I thought, where have I landed?
Link
NEW YORK - JULY 16: Actor
Christopher Walken attends the "Hairspray" premiere presented by New Line
Cinema at the Ziegfeld Theatre on July 16, 2007 in New York City
John (Travolta), haben Sie
es genossen, mit Christopher Walken zu arbeiten? Travolta: Nun, Chris ist ein alter Broadway-Star, genau wie ich. Wir haben
beide auch sonst viel Theater gespielt. Es war toll zu wissen, dass er und
ich den selben Hintergrund haben. So wie zwei alte Boxer. Wir wussten
einfach, dass wir es schaffen würden. Als er den Schlüssel zu seiner Figur
gefunden hatte - nämlich wegen Edna verrückt zu werden - war alles gelaufen.
Es war sehr einfach für mich, zu reagieren. Man sieht auch sehr schön, wie
stolz sie beide auf ihre Tochter sind. Sie ist das wichtigste in ihrem
Leben. Es war also eigentlich ziemlich einfach mit ihm zusammen.Link
+ Video-Interview mit Travolta
Stimmt es, dass Sie es waren, der auf
Christopher Walken für die Rolle Ihres Ehemannes bestanden hat? John Travolta: Ja, absolut. Ich wollte jemand wie Chris, der schon oft
in Musicals gespielt hat. Musical sind eine zutiefst amerikanische Kunstform
– und man muss einem Darsteller abnehmen können, dass er seine Dialoge
singt. Wenn sich jemand dabei komisch vorkommt, dann hört man das. Und Chris
Walken ist ein echter Musical-Profi. Er hat mehr Theatererfahrung als ich –
er steht auf der Bühne, seit er zehn war.
Link
Rezensionen:
(Travolta) legt trotz Fatsuit zwei
äußerst flotte Sohlen aufs Parkett, die eine als romantisches Tanzduett mit
Filmeehemann Christopher Walken, der als spindeldürrer
Scherzartikelverkäufer zum Brüllen komisch ist.
Link
In weiteren Nebenrollen glänzt auch noch
Christopher Walken, der als übergeschnappter Spielzeugverkäufer und Vater
von Tracy eine genial schräge Vorstellung abliefert...
Link
"In HAIRSPRAY beweist Travolta, in eine Ganzkörpermaske
voluminösen Ausmaßes gestopft, einmal mehr, dass er ein souveräner
Darsteller ist, selbst in Frauenkleidern. Wenn er, von Gewichten und
Hochfrisur beschwert, mit dem eleganten, langgliedrigen Christopher Walken,
der seinen, nein, ihren, Ehemann Wilbur gibt, ganz leichtfüßig ein Tänzchen
im Stil von Ginger Rogers und Fred Astaire hinlegt, dann denkt man an den
ultimativen Disco-Film und freut sich, dass er's immer noch kann." (Der
Tagesspiegel)
"Während sich Divine die Leinwand bei jedem Auftritt einzuverleiben scheint,
nimmt Travolta Maske und Latexanzug vor allem als darstellerische
Herausforderung wahr. Seine Figur ist zunächst so verhuscht, dass man
tatsächlich glauben könnte, sie hätte sich aus Scham in ihren voluminösen
Körper verkrochen. Später erprobt Travolta die großspurige Seite der mutig
gewordenen Matrone und meistert ein Liebesduett mit dem in seiner Sanftheit
beinahe schon wieder unheimlichen Christopher Walken." (Frankfurter
Rundschau)
Neben Michelle Pfeiffer "stechen besonders Christopher Walken und John
Travolta hervor. Letzterer liefert als Tracys Mutter Edna eine erstaunlich
selbstironische Performance ab, mit der er immerhin in die Fußspuren von
John Waters Lieblingsschauspieler(in), dem Transvestiten Divine tritt. Im
Zusammenspiel mit Walken, der seinen/ihren Ehemann spielt, gelingen Travolta
einige der absurdesten Szenen des Jahres, die einen schönen Kontrast zu den
luftigleichten Gesangsnummern abgeben." (programmkino.de)
Dank allerlei maskenbildnerischer Tricks zur Moppel-Mutti mutiert, sieht er
seiner Filmtochter Blonsky erstaunlich ähnlich und bildet, zusammen mit dem
gegen seinen üblichen Rollentyp besetzen Christopher Walken (als
liebenswerter Papa Wilbur Turnblad), ein absolutes Dreamteam. So ist denn
auch ein von Walken und Travolta gesungen und getanztes Duett einer der
Höhepunkte des Films – allein dafür lohnt sich der Kinobesuch.
Link
Another casting coup was the addition of Christopher Walken, an actor
primarily known for his award-winning performances in dramatic (and oft
times villainous) film roles. In reality, Walken is a kid from Queens who
has been singing and dancing ever since he was a little boy. As a young man,
he was a chorus boy in many musicals and touring stage companies, including
a two-year stint in the classic “West Side Story.”
Christopher
Walken: (Laughs hysterically for a minute) No. It was a pleasure. When John
and I worked together, we rehearsed a long time on that dance. And he was
always John. And he was very fit. He's playing this big woman, I wondered,
"Why do you have to be so fit?" But then when we were shooting, I
understood. This was a huge thing, this costume. And he was in high heels.
It was like carrying a mattress. He had to be very strong underneath that.
When I saw him in it, I was awe struck. But a few minutes later, when I
looked at him again, it was just John under there. I never thought of him as
Edna. I just thought of us as Chris and John. For a moment I was shocked.
When he walked on, and there were all the people in the movie. It was really
something. But after five or ten minutes, it was just John. 
BostonNOW:
What's it like to do a big dance number with John Travolta as a woman being
your dancing partner? 
Der erfahrene Filmstar
John Travolta und Neuentdeckung Nikki Blonsky standen am Anfang einer Besetzungsphase, die schließlich ein
absolutes Star-Ensemble vor den Hairspray-Kameras
versammelte. Noch nie gab es eine derartige Ansammlung von Talenten, die
durch einen Film tanzen und singen - von Hollywoods Schwergewichten bis zu
den angesagtesten Jungstars.
