Hairspray (2007 film) the 1988 John Waters film upon which the stage musical is based, became interested in adapting the stage show as a musical film. Development work began in late 2004, while a similarly film-to-Broadway-to-film project, Mel Brooks' "The Producers", was in production. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the executive producers of the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Chicago", were hired as the producers for "Hairspray", and began discussing possibly casting John Travolta and Billy Crystal (or Jim Broadbent) as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad, respectively. Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell, authors of the book for the stage musical, wrote
Edna, the Inebriate Woman Edna, the Inebriate Woman Edna, the Inebriate Woman is a British television drama starring Patricia Hayes. The film, which was written by award-winning screenwriter Jeremy Sandford, was first broadcast on BBC 1 as part of the "Play for Today" series on 21 October 1971. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and produced by Irene Shubik. Filming took place in November and December 1970. The play deals with an elderly woman, Edna (Patricia Hayes), who wanders through life in an alcoholic haze without a home, a job or any money. A rambling, pathetic yet defiant woman, Edna sleeps rough and begs