Can you tell us about getting John Waters [the original Hairspray director] to cameo as a flasher?
Neil Meron: Well, John when we all came on board gave Adam the greatest freedom and said: “Make it your own!” He did read the script and he was on the phone with Adam. Actually, Adam gave him a tour of Baltimore before we started filming and so he began to authenticate everything that was being done. We always had John’s blessing. He sent us the greatest email after he’d seen the completed film. He said: “Thank you for making me a happy grandfather.” Craig Zadan: What happened was that Adam [Shankman] and Neil [Meron] sat down and made a list of parts that he could possibly play. And John said: “I really don’t want to come in and take a big role, I actually would love to play the flasher because it’s typecasting.” He also loved the idea of starting a movie and being in the first moments, so therefore he was saying to everyone he condoned the movie and loved it. Q. What do you think about the current revival of musicals? Neil Meron: Hairspray is different because in recent musicals, eve
