John Waters' HAIRSPRAY to Become TV Series?

In an interview in this week's The Hollywood Reporter, director, screenwriter and actor John Waters spoke about the long-term success of HAIRSPRAY and revealed some interesting news about what may lie ahead for the film's future.

"It's the gift that keeps on giving," Waters called his 1988 film starring Ricki Lake. "I got paid to write a sequel, White Lipstick, which never happened, and a television series, which still might." Added the sometimes stand-up comedian, "I just want to keep on with it until we get to Hairspray on Ice."

Waters did not give further details as to the casting or plotline for a possible 'Hairspray' television series. The 1988 film was adapted to a long-running Broadway musical in 2002, which itself was adapted to a hit musical film which earned more than $200 million worldwide.

The entertainer was onstage this week at Tribeca's City Winery for two performances of his stage show, described as, "a constantly evolving spoken-word memoir, blending personal reminiscences on his film career with wry insights into the contemporary world and its most bizarre aberrations."

Waters rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films. His 1970s and early '80s trash films feature his regular troupe of actors known as the Dreamlanders-among them Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Edith Massey. Starting with Desperate Living (1977), Waters began casting real-life convicted criminals (Liz Renay, Patty Hearst) and infamous people (Traci Lords, a former porn star).

Waters' 1988 film 'Hairspray' earned a modest gross of $8 million domestically. After the crossover success of the original film version of Hairspray, Waters's films began featuring familiar actors and celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Edward Furlong, Melanie Griffith, Chris Isaak, Johnny Knoxville, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci, Lili Taylor, Kathleen Turner, John Travolta, and Tracey Ullman.

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