TRAVOLTA'S 'BLAD TURN

And you thought Battlefield Earth was a drag. John Travolta has finally signed on to play downtrodden housewife Edna Turnblad — the role created in the Broadway version by Harvey Fierstein — in the new Hairspray film. (Interestingly, Variety reports, Travolta's Hairspray gig likely will postpone plans for a big-screen Dallas remake, for which he was being wooed to play J.R.) But with Travolta now onboard and with Queen Latifah cast as Motormouth Maybelle, the last big hurdle is the casting of the lead, Tracy Turnblad, originated onstage by Marissa Jaret Winokur (Stacked) and on-screen by Ricki Lake.