Claim: James Marsden worked with a director.

Hairspray is a 2007 musical romantic comedy film based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name , which in turn was based on John Waters ' 1988 comedy film of the same name . Adapted from both Waters 's 1988 script and Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell 's book for the stage musical by screenwriter Leslie Dixon , the 2007 film version of Hairspray was directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman and has an ensemble cast including John Travolta , Michelle Pfeiffer , Christopher Walken , Amanda Bynes , James Marsden , Queen Latifah , Brittany Snow , Zac Efron , Elijah Kelley , Allison Janney and Nikki Blonsky in her feature film debut . Set in 1962 Baltimore , Maryland , the film follows the `` pleasantly plump '' teenager Tracy Turnblad as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation .   The film began development in 2004 , and Dixon reworked Meehan and O'Donnell 's first draft of the screenplay to tone down the musical 's campiness . In 2005 , Shankman agreed to direct the film . Composer/lyricist Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman reworked their songs from the Broadway musical for the film 's soundtrack , and also wrote four new songs for the film . Principal photography commenced in September 2006 and ended in December of that year ; filming took place on locations in Toronto , Ontario and Hamilton , Ontario in Canada and on soundstages at Toronto 's Showline Studios . Recording sessions for the film 's songs and soundtrack took place in Los Angeles , California in the United States .   Hairspray premiered on July 13 , 2007 at the Mann Village Theater and was released on July 20 , 2007 in the United States . The film was a critical and financial success , breaking the record for biggest sales at opening weekend for a movie musical , which the film held until July 2008 when it was surpassed by Mamma Mia ! and later High School Musical 3 : Senior Year in October . Hairspray went on to become the sixth highest grossing musical film in US cinema history , behind the film adaptations of Grease , Chicago , and Mamma Mia ! , and stands as one of the most critically and commercially successful musical films of the last decade . Available in a variety of formats , Hairsprays Region 1 home video release took place on November 20 , 2007 . USA Network purchased the broadcast rights to Hairspray and was scheduled to debut the film on cable television in February 2010 , but in the end it did not broadcast that month , instead the film was pushed back and premiered on USA on July 24 , 2010 , with sister channel Bravo also showing it multiple times , and in February 2011 aired on ABC for over-the-air broadcasts .