"[Dolarhyde's "fan letter" to Dr. Lecter]: My dear Dr. Lecter: I wanted to tell you I'm delighted that you've taken an interest in me. And when I learned of your vast correspondence, I thought: "Dare I?" Of course I do. I don't believe you'll tell them who I am. Besides, what particular body I currently occupy is trivial. The important thing is what I am becoming. I know that you alone can understand this transformation. I have some things I'd love to show you. If circumstances permit, I hope we can correspond. I have admired you for years and have a complete collection of your press notices. Actually, I think of them as unfair reviews. As unfair as mine. They do like to sling demeaning nicknames, don't they? "The Tooth Fairy." What could be more inappropriate? It would shame me for you to read that, if I didn't know you had suffered the same distortions in the press."

"I am the Dragon, and you call me insane. You are privy to a great becoming, but you recognize nothing. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is your nature to do one thing correctly: before me, you rightly tremble. But fear is not what you owe me, Mr. Lounds. You owe me awe."

"[Of Dolarhyde] When I read his journal, it was just so sad. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He wasn't born a monster; he was made one through years of abuse."

"[in the final letter to Will] My dear Will, you must be healed by now... on the outside, at least. I hope you're not too ugly. What a collection of scars you have. Never forget who gave you the best of them, and be grateful; our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real. We live in a primitive time, don't we, Will? Neither savage nor wise. Half measures are the curse of it; any rational society would either kill me or put me to some use. Do you dream much, Will? I think of you often. Your old friend, Hannibal Lecter."

"Tell me, Will. Did you enjoy it? Your first murder? Of course you did. And why shouldn't it feel good? It does to God. Why, only last week in Texas, He dropped a whole church roof on the heads of 34 of His worshippers, just as they were groveling through a hymn. He wouldn't begrudge you one journalist."

"Do you like my little exercise cage, Will? My so-called lawyer is always nagging Dr. Chilton for better accommodations. I don't know which is the greater fool."

"Have you ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black. If one were nude, say, one would want to have outdoor privacy for that sort of thing."

"Without our imaginations, we'd be like all those other poor dullards. Fear is the price of our instrument. But I can help you bear it."

"Ah yes, Dr. Chilton. Gruesome, isn't he? Fumbles at your head like a freshman pulling at a panty girdle."

"Remarkable boy. I do admire your courage. I think I'll eat your heart."

"Think to yourself that every day is your last. The hour to which you do not look forward will come as a welcome surprise. As for me, when you want a good laugh, you will find me in fine state... fat and sleek, a true hog of Epicurus' herd."

"Anthony Heald — Dr. Frederick Chilton"

"My mom says I’m not allowed to perspire!"

"Being invited places by colored people - it feels so hip!"

"Ma, it's changing out there! You'll like it. People who are different, their time is coming!"

"Jerry Stiller, Wilbur Turnblad in the original 1988 film, was Mr. Pinky, from Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway."

"Shawn Thompson, Corny Collins in the original 1988 film, was the reporter outside of the studio."

"Director/Choreographer Adam Shankman, Ricki Lake (the original Tracy in the 1988 film), and composer Mark Shaiman were the William Morris talent agents. Note Shaiman's out-of-time beard and hair."

"Set director Joey O'Brien was The Corny Collins Show director."

"Choreographer Jamal Sims was one of the protesters in "I Know Where I've Been". He was the one on Edna's left."

"Choreographers Anne Fletcher, Zach Woodlee, and Joey Pizzi were the nurse, the teacher in the smoking lounge (whose doughnut Tracy takes), and the Driver's Ed teacher respectively in "I Can Hear the Bells"."

"Mink Stole, Tammy in the 1988 film, was one of the women flashed by John Waters."

"John Waters, director and writer of the original Hairspray and executive producer of the 2007 remake, was "the flasher who lives next door"."

"Pulp Fiction Reference:"

"The dress that Penny wears in "You Can't Stop the Beat" was made from the curtains in her room. It was homage to Disney films where dresses were made from curtains and blankets."

"The Broadway song "Mama I'm a Big Girl Now" was reluctantly cut from the movie. It was set to be a three-way song involving Tracy, Penny, and Amber with their mothers. The producers felt that it could not be done without a three-way split screen and it would deviate from the movie. The song, however, was recorded featuring Nikki Blonsky, Ricki Lake (the original Tracy in the 1988 film), and Marissa Jaret Winokur from the Broadway show."

"For "Run Tell That”, a 1959 GMC school bus was cut into nine pieces to facilitate the dance number. Ironically, the white kids sat at the back of the bus."

"Unlike the Broadway show, neither Amber nor Velma take active parts in "You Can't Stop the Beat.”"

"The added reprise of "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful" was done at Michelle Pfeiffer's suggestion to replace a scripted scene so that she could have another chance to sing."

"During a break in the filming, John Travolta led the cast in "Summer Loving" and "Greased Lightning" from Grease. Amanda and Zac were so excited that they texted all of their friends. Zac sent pages and pictures to his High School Musical cast mates who were on tour at that time."

"Because Zac's voice was blended with Drew Seeley's in High School Musical, he got the chance to show his talents on his own with Hairspray. In High School Musical 2 he was the singing voice of Troy Bolton."

"The songs "It Takes Two" and "Ladies' Choice", both sung by Link, were written for the stage and film respectively, even though the coda for the first song was only heard on film. It can be heard on the CD soundtrack."

"The song "You Can't Stop the Beat" was nicknamed "You Can't Stop to Breathe" by the cast due to the song's length, the near-nonstop dancing, and the large amount of words sung."

"The song "The New Girl in Town" was originally written for the Broadway show and it was cut during its pre-Broadway run but it was included in the film version. This was done to give Brittany Snow (Amber Von Tussle) a chance to sing and to show Negro Day, something that the other adaptations never did."

"Several deleted scenes included: Edna being arrested at the protest, Tracy singing "I Can Wait" in the bomb shelter of Penny's basement, and Velma being arrested near the end of "You Can't Stop the Beat". They can all be seen on the DVD."

"Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton) constantly sucked on lollipops. Her father, a dentist, expressed concern about it. She assured him that she was not really eating them when in reality she ate them all."

"The hairstyles and bunches for the cast members took an average of three hours to do."

"It took four hours of makeup daily to put John Travolta into the thirty-pound body suit to play Edna Turnblad."

"Link's signature "wink-and-click" gesture was something that Zac came up with on his own. Shankman liked it so much that he asked him to do it often on the film. Zac even did it on at least one occasion in High School Musical 2."

"Zac Efron (Link Larkin) commuted back and forth from Toronto to Los Angeles to do the soundtrack for High School Musical 2. However, some of the Hairspray soundtrack was recorded in the same studio."

"On an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show Nikki Blonsky revealed that the first thing that John Travolta told her on the set was "Come to Momma!""

"Nikki Blonsky's film début. She was chosen out of a nationwide talent search and was actually surprised by director/choreographer Adam Shankman via a live video feed at Cold Stone Creamery where she worked."

"The irony of casting John Travolta (Danny Zuko from Grease) as Edna Turnblad and Michelle Pfeiffer (Stephanie Zinone from Grease 2) as Velma Von Tussle was not lost on anyone, not to mention casting Zac Efron (Troy Bolton from the High School Musical movies)."

"George King as Mr. Flak"

"Taylor Parks as Little Inez Stubbs"

"Jerry Stiller as Mr. Pinky"

"Jayne Eastwood as Miss Wimsey"

"Paul Dooley as Mr. Harriman F. Spritzer"

"Allison Janney as Prudy Pingleton"

"Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs"