Adam Shankman Tapped to Helm Hairspray Movie Musical

Adam Shankman has been tapped as director and choreographer of the upcoming film version of Hairspray, according to Variety. Shankman's feature film directing credits include The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House and The Pacifier. He is currently in post-production with Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Prior to directing, Shankman, who trained as a dancer at Juilliard, was a dance and physical comedy choreographer. His big screen choreography projects include The Addams Family, Casper, Inspector Gadget, Anastasia, George of the Jungle, Boogie Nights, Miami Rhapsody, The Flintstones, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, She's All That, Isn't She Great and Stuck on You. Shankman also served as a music video choreographer. He has choreographed videos for many artists, including Whitney Houston, The B-52's, Barry White, Aaron Neville and Stevie Wonder.

Reportedly no offers are out to actors for roles in Hairspray; however, those who have been mentioned to star include John Travolta as Edna, Billy Crystal as Wilbur, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle and Meryl Streep as Velma.

Stage director Jack O'Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell were originally announced to co-direct the Hairspray film, but they left the project earlier this year. Shankman will soon go to work with screenwriter Leslie Dixon and Hairspray composer/lyricists Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Filming is expected to begin early next year with an eye toward a summer 2007 release.