"You stand convicted of Assholism!" -- in praise of John Waters

Saw Pink Flamingoes tonight, it was fantastic! I wasn't quite sure I'd like it but it was way better than its rating on imdb would have you believe. I've heard about John Waters films for years, but just never got around to trying any. That's great stuff. I'm not familiar with his other films, only heard about them. I did however see the insane scene of the insect raping Divine in the "...Maniacs" flick on You Tube. I feel bad I didn't get that one at the video shop, though, cause I thought at first I would get that, and then I switched to Pink Flamingoes.

I remember seeing Divine perform a song on some British TV programme in the 80's.

way better than its rating on imdb would have you believe

Imagine that. Desperate Living and Female Trouble for you, next.

I presume he'd make an exception for invading armies.

If you're traveling, you can't be racist... You can't be homophobic. I think the only way you can be racist or homophobic is if you never leave the neighborhood you were born in, and you hang around with stupid people. So I've always thought that someone who was really racist should be sentenced to travel, but that's not very practical."

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A160709

Somehow I'd not heard of blossoms.

Yesterday I was working and had This Filthy World playing on Netflix On-Demand, and was interrupted by a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses.

did they join you?

No. Which was probably a good thing since they looked a little sickly already. Besides, they just wanted to read... ALOUD. They gave me some little booklets and I tossed them onto the stack of Playboys, Road & Tracks, Exotics, and Crawls in the bathroom.

How had I forgotten Maggie Gyllenhaal was in Cecil B. Demented?

That was the first movie I ever saw her in.

next, a Christmas movie.

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey are attached to star in John Waters' Christmas film "Fruitcake."

The plot is under wraps but is said to center on the title character, a boy named after his favorite dessert. He runs away from home during the holidays after he and his parents are caught shoplifting meat, then meets a runaway girl raised by two gay men and searching for her birth mother.

He runs away from home during the holidays after he and his parents are caught shoplifting meat

Of course!

There never needs to be a greater justification than that.

I met John Waters on Saturday in Provincetown! We were there for a friends bachelorette party and said bachelorette happens to be a HUGE JW fan. We were drinking outside on a patio when I saw him leave the restaurant so I went up to him, explained the situation and asked for a photo. He was very nice and agreed but sadly wouldn't pose with Big Joe our blow up doll companion for the night. Will post pic when I get a copy.

how have i never been to p-town? :( :(
i want to meet john waters

No posing with Big Joe! Well perhaps he wasn't in the mood.

x-post! It was my first time in P-town and it was awesome. The town is seriously cute and charming and so much fun. You should definitely go if you a chance. The John Waters thing was great esp since my friend and I are huge fans. It was perfect.

He said he was sure it would end up photoshopped and on the internet if he posted with Big Joe. Hahaha.

hahahaha - posted. I meant posed, of course.

Hahaha, a VERY wise man. Can't put a foot wrong!

I have never been to P'town either, but as I've read that he's a(n) habitue that would be a primary reason for ever going.

You're in NY right? Have you ever been to Cherry Grove or The Pines on Fire Island? Very similar feel although P-town is a lot bigger. It was pretty tame this weekend because the weather wasn't great but I hear that in the summer it's just mobbed.

I was in Cherry Grove for about 36 hours, ten years ago. Couldn't wait to leave.

Ha, really? I grew up in another community on FI but have been to The Grove/Pines many times. I guess it is a little full on esp mid-season. Overall I got the feeling that P-town is quieter but like I said it was def a slow weekend.

his dad passed away

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.waters12jun12,0,1592699.story

Very sad but a long and successful life. The bits with him in Divine Trash are great -- you can tell he's bemused by it all but also proud; I think it's telling that he remembers both John's persistence and the fact that he paid back the loan used to make Pink Flamingos within about a year.

And this does say it all:

"He made us always feel safe," said another son, filmmaker John S. Waters Jr. "Is that not the most important thing a parent could do for their children?"

He's actually in the Baltimore Sun again today!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-te.to.hon13jun13,0,3043558.story

Honfest, this weekend's kitschy celebration of beehive hairdos, cat's-eye glasses and pearls, may be the city's biggest neighborhood festival.

But as Honfest grows, so does the backlash against it. Some Hampden dwellers, local fashionistas and even John Waters - who helped perpetuate the image of the Hon as a Baltimore icon - are fed up with the 50,000-strong festival that began as a simple beauty pageant.

Waters frowns on all the Hon hype. He said he won't use the word or the image in any of his scripts these days, and he doesn't think the city should get behind it either.

"To me, it's used up," Waters said of the Hon. "It's condescending now. The people that celebrate it are not from it. I feel that in some weird way they're looking slightly down on it. I only celebrate something I can look up to."

Apparently this ruffled some feathers because there's a bit in the comments:

I just heard John Waters called the owner of Cafe Hon/HonFest creater to apologize for the quote. He was interviewed 5 weeks ago and not about HonFest. He has proven himself to be a truly nice gentleman.

i'm watching pecker right now and everytime that old lady says "full of grace!" i laughed out loud! it's so hilaaarious, kinda reminds me of david lynch brand of humor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_KyuUtbKQQ

John Water's Curated Collection at the Strand

He picked a book by my grandma's friend/former neighbor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd6EO6SGGU8

http://dcist.com/2012/05/hitchhiking_director_john_waters_pi.php

Earlier this afternoon, somewhere "in the middle of Ohio," groundbreaking indie director John Waters was found hitchhiking on the side of a road. We're trying to find out just what the Baltimore-based director of Pink Flamingos was doing begging for a lift in the middle of the Buckeye State—indie rock band Here We Go Magic says they picked him up! And he's currently riding around in their van.

http://dcist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/051612waters.jpg

http://distilleryimage5.instagram.com/bb4547969f9411e1abb01231382049c1_7.jpg

http://instagr.am/p/Ks2P0mHCIh/

dcist commenter beat me to NOTHING BUT THESE FUCKING JERKOFF HIPPIES ON THE ROAD

Hahah

is the band any good? nothing on ilm that i can see!

Well, uh...

http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-different-ship-r2433665/review

They're a motorik version of Tom Petty. I like them fine

I have never been to P'town either, but as I've read that he's a(n) habitue that would be a primary reason for ever going.

― Dr Morbius, Monday, June 2, 2008 2:42 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm reading his book Role Models, in which he writes: "Since I love minorities and Provincetown is a gay fishing village, I hang out in the two straight bars."

Aw man. Jean E. Hill -- aka Grizelda from Desperate Living -- RIP

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/john_waters_star_and_plus-size_greeting_card_model_jean_e._hill_rip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfqFdE-bXMg

Honestly amazed that she made it that long after seeing how she looked in A Dirty Shame.

so he's written this book after hitchhiking across America.

“There is no such thing as a $5 million independent movie. They want me to go make it like I used to, but I have no desire to do that. I did that. I have 17 movies, they’re all playing everywhere in the world, more than ever. I’ve spoken.”

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-05-30/entertainment/bs-sc-john-waters-carsick-20140531_1_john-waters-carsick-east-baltimore

"The main thing is, when DVDs overnight died, that ended the safety net. That was profit. All foreign deals fell through. Nobody wants any movie that can't play in China. Nobody wants any movie that has to have any subtitles. They just want explosions. They want $100 million movies that are tentpole movies.

The worst thing they want … is a comedy based on wit. And if I was doing something, that's what I'd try to do.

Thank God I have five other careers."

Complete NYC retro in Sept, featuring several Waters intros/Q&As, plus 8 films programmed by JW (four of which I haven't seen):

The Mother
Roger Michell, USA, 2003, 35mm, 112m
A recently widowed grandmother turns horny and has a secret affair with her daughter’s much younger, loutish boyfriend (played by pre-Bond Daniel Craig). Gerontophilia never seemed so exciting.

Of Unknown Origin
George P. Cosmatos, Canada/USA, 1983, 35mm, 88m
The best rat movie ever. Period. End of discussion.

There's also a Mondo Trasho/Multiple Maniacs/The Diane Linkletter Story on 9/11 for holiday fun.

http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/john-waters-retrospective-film-society-of-lincoln-center-2014

Did we ever have a thread on the I Am Divine documentary? It's on Netflix, enjoyed it very much.