The Sound and the Furry: a 'Josie and the Pussycats' preview

"I studied Blink-182 and Hole," says Babyface, who auditioned about 20 singers for the voice of Josie, before settling on Kay Hanley, formerly of Boston popsters Letters to Cleo. "The music started punk, but we ended up with something more pop-flavored. Almost Go-Go's-ish."

And while the girls learned their instruments (Cook sums up her previous music experience thusly, "I play the radio"), they also bonded. "There could have been, mind the pun, catfights," says Dawson. "But none of that was there. Tara even asked us to be in her wedding. I can't tell you how wonderful that is, just as a special girl thing." (Those aren't the only upcoming Pussycat nuptials, either: Kaplan is engaged to actor Breckin Meyer, who appeared in Can't Hardly Wait and plays one of the members of DuJour.)

The youthful cast and crew -- Elfont and Kaplan are only 32 and 30, respectively -- had at least one participant feeling a bit like Grizabella, however. "Parker left quite early and left me on my own with all these children," laughs the 35-year-old Cumming. "I was chatting with the girls and said something about Lauren Bacall, and one said, 'Who's Lauren Bacall?' But we found middle ground. We would rap. I would say things like 'Who's your daddy?'"

The Vancouver shoot lasted 47 days, climaxing with a stadium concert sequence, which required luring 10,000 locals with the promise of a performance by Canadian boy band b4-4. "It was exciting," remembers Cook, "but then you realize the audience is paid to cheer. So it's like, RAAAHHH! 'Cut!' And then silence. Thank you! Good night, Vancouver!"

"I was hitting the drums so hard, going off people's energy, that my hands were shredded," says Reid. "Blisters everywhere. Blood. I didn't even notice until after, when everyone was like, 'What the hell happened?'"

Meanwhile, as the filmmakers sweated blood to make the April 6 release date and Universal planned a marketing blitz (including tie-in dolls, backpacks, and underwear), creator DeCarlo coughed up a hair ball, filing suit against Archie Comics for ownership of some of the characters and financial compensation. A federal judge dismissed his case in January, but the cartoonist's lawyers have filed an appeal. "If they said 'this is your baby and this is what you're going to get,' I'd be as happy as a log," says DeCarlo. "Now I don't know whether to wish it will be a success or a flop." Responds Archie Comics chairman Michael Silberkleit, "It's news to me that they're appealing, but all I can say is it's a shame that after 40 years, a guy decides to sue us."

Back on the Universal lot, those absurdly symbolic explosions have stopped. Instead, a power-pop tune called "Three Small Words" lilts from the mixing studio. Elfont and Kaplan smile. They cowrote that one. Elfont's head nods and Kaplan listens for a moment and then says, "See, the truth is, if a 12-year-old girl sees this movie and wants to start a band, I'm happy. And what's wrong with that?"

(Additional reporting by David Hochman)