New Line Cinema’s Hairspray Earns Awards Season Kudos

New Line Cinema’s musical comedy Hairspray gained additional awards season accolades this week, receiving two Critics Choice Awards and a People’s Choice Award. The film won for best acting ensemble and newcomer Nikki Blonsky was named Best Young Actress for her role as Tracy Turnblad at the 13th Annual Critics Choice Awards, presented on Jan 7. The song “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from the Hairspray soundtrack won the People’s Choice Award for Best Soundtrack Song on Jan. 8.

The Critics Choice Awards are selected by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which is comprised of more than 200 television, radio and online critics.

Hairspray has grossed more than $200 million worldwide, making it the third highest grossing musical of all time.

Other prominent honors Hairspray has recently received include: 3 Golden Globe nominations (Best Picture, Best Actress for Nikki Blonsky, and Best Supporting Actor for John Travolta); a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture; 2 wins from the Palm Springs Film Festival (Best Ensemble and Rising Star for Nikki Blonsky); 3 wins at the Hollywood Film Festival (Producers of the Year for Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, Best Ensemble, and Best Supporting Actor for John Travolta); a win from the Online Film Critics Society (Breakthrough Performer for Nikki Blonsky); and an NAACP Image Award nomination for Queen Latifah for Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. The film’s platinum-selling soundtrack from New Line Records is nominated for Best Soundtrack Recording at the 2008 Grammys and was ranked as the #1 Independent Label Album on the 2007 Billboard Year-End Charts.

Featuring new and original material based on John Waters’ 1988 cult classic about star-struck teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show, Hairspray features a remarkable collection of talent including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, director and choreographer Adam Shankman (Bringing Down The House), and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Chicago). The new screenplay for Hairspray was written by Leslie Dixon (Freaky Friday, Outrageous Fortune).

About New Line Cinema Corporation:
New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).

Contact Info:
Candice McDonough
(310) 967-6991
candice.mcdonough@newline.com