What was the New Line approval process like on casting and other production items?
Craig: Adam, Neil and I would decide who we wanted and then we brought those people to the studio to sign off on. New Line was very in sync with our team’s vision of the movie. We were crystal clear about the movie we wanted to make, just as we were with Chicago. Adam, Neil and I were as clear about Hairspray as Rob Marshall, Neil and I were about Chicago. Neil: It’s interesting, because I’m reading this theatrical book and there’s a quote from Richard Rodgers, and he says that in great musicals, no individual parts stand out above others, all of the elements work together, and that’s true of every great musical. I of course think that it applies to Hairspray as well. Were Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman involved in this process as well? Craig: We were thrilled to be working with Marc and Scott and we were so happy that they wrote new songs for the movie. “Ladies Choice” is one of the most exciting numbers in the film now and “Come So Far” which they wrote for the end credit sequence an
