John Waters (filmmaker)

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**John Waters**
John Waters
Born:	April 22, 1946 Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Occupation:	Film director, producer, occasional actor and screenwriter.

John Waters (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early career
- 1.2 Move towards mainstream
2 Filmography
3 Bibliography
4 Other works
5 Trivia
6 Footnotes
7 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

Waters was born on April 22, 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of John Samuel Waters and Patricia Ann (née Whitaker). Waters grew up in Lutherville, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. His boyhood friend and muse Glenn Milstead, later known as Divine, also lived in Baltimore County, Maryland, a short distance away.

For his sixteenth birthday, Waters received a film camera from his maternal grandmother, Stella Whitaker.

His first movie was Hag in a Black Leather Jacket. According to Waters, the film was shown only once in a "beatnik coffee house" in Baltimore.

Waters was a student at NYU in New York City. The school, however, was not what Waters had in mind:

"NYU...I was there for about five minutes. I don't know what I was thinking about. I went to one class and they kept talking about Potemkin and that isn't what I wanted to talk about. I had just gone to to see Olga's House of Shame. That was what I was more into..."

In January 1966, Waters and some friends were caught smoking marijuana on the grounds; they were soon expelled. Waters returned to Baltimore, where he began work on his next film, Eat Your Makeup, which was filmed that year.

Waters' films would become Divine's primary star vehicle. Waters' early films were all shot in the Baltimore area with his company of local actors, the Dreamlanders. In addition to Divine, the group included Mink Stole, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, and others. These early films were among the first picked up for distribution by New Line Cinema. Waters' films premiered at the Baltimore Senator Theatre and sometimes at the Charles Theatre.

Waters' early campy movies present filthily lovable characters in outrageous situations with hyperbolic dialogue. His early films, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Desperate Living, which he labeled the Trash Trilogy, pushed hard at the boundaries of conventional propriety and movie censorship. A particularly notorious final segment of Pink Flamingos, simply added in as a non sequitur to the end of the film, featured, in one take without special effects, a small dog defecating and Divine eating the feces.

[edit] Move towards mainstream

His 1981 film Polyester starred Divine opposite once-teen-idol Tab Hunter. His films have become less controversial and more mainstream, although works such as Hairspray, Cry-Baby and Serial Mom still retain his trademark inventiveness. The film Hairspray was turned into a hit Broadway musical, which swept the 2003 Tony Awards, and a movie adaption of the Broadway musical is being released in theaters on July 20, 2007.

Waters' most recent film, the NC-17-rated A Dirty Shame, is a move back toward his earlier, more controversial work of the 1970s. He also had a cameo in Jackass: Number Two, which starred Dirty Shame co-star Johnny Knoxville.

He is currently a professor of Cinema and Subcultural Studies at the European Graduate School [1]. In 2007, he also became the host (as "The Groom Reaper") of 'Til Death Do Us Part, a program on America's Court TV network featuring dramatizations of real-life marriages that soured and ended in murder.

Being a gay American, Waters is an avid supporter of gay rights and gay pride. [2]

Waters is a major supporter of the United States Democratic Party. [3]

Waters has revealed that his next movie will be a children's film titled "Fruitcake".^[1]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Writer/Director

Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (8 mm) 1964 (b&w) starring Mary Vivian Pearce, Mona Montgomery; 17 minutes.
Roman Candles (three 8 mm shown simultaneously) 1966 (color) starring Maelcum Soul, Bob Skidmore, Mona Montgomery, Divine, Mink Stole, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary; 40 minutes
Eat Your Makeup (16mm) 1968 (b&w) starring Maelcum Soul, David Lochary, Marina Melin, Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mona Montgomery; 45 minutes
Mondo Trasho (16mm) 1969 (b&w) starring Mary Vivian Pearce, Divine, David Lochary, Mink Stole; released through New Line Cinema; 95 minutes. $2,000 total cost
The Diane Linkletter Story (16mm) 1969 (b&w) starring Mary Vivian Pearce, Divine, David Lochary; 15 minutes. This film was later collected in the video presentation titled A Divine Double Feature.
Multiple Maniacs (16mm) 1970 (b&w) starring Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Edith Massey; released through New Line Cinema; 90 minutes. $5,000 total cost. Rated: NC-17 Original Rating: X
Pink Flamingos (16 & 35 mm) 1972 (color) starring Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills, Edith Massey; released through New Line Cinema; 93 minutes. $10,000. A re-edited version including extra scenes was released in 1997 and runs 108 minutes Rated: NC-17 Original Rating: X
Female Trouble (16 & 35 mm) 1974 (color) starring Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Edith Massey; released through New Line Cinema; 92 minutes. $25,000. Rated: NC-17 for explicit sexuality and nudity. Original Rating: X
Desperate Living (16 & 35 mm) 1977 (color) starring Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, Mary Vivian Pearce, Jean Hill; released through New Line Cinema; 90 minutes. $65,000. Rated: NC-17 Original Rating: X
Polyester (35 mm) 1981 (color) starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Stiv Bators, David Samson, Mary Garlington, Ken King, Mink Stole, Joni-Ruth White; released through New Line Cinema. This film was released in "odorama", which meant that a "scratch and sniff" card corresponding to moments in the film (eg, Divine's husband Elmer farting) was issued to cinema goers. 86 minutes $300,000 Rated R
Hairspray (35 mm) 1988 (color) starring Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Divine, Deborah Harry, Ricki Lake, Jerry Stiller, Ric Ocasek, Pia Zadora, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Mink Stole; released through New Line Cinema; 92 minutes. Waters' first true 'big budget' ($2,000,000) foray into 'the mainstream' and his first PG rated movie.
Cry-Baby (35 mm) 1990 (color) starring Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Kim McGuire, Stephen Mailer, Darren E. Burrows, Polly Bergen, Patricia Hearst, David Nelson, Troy Donahue, Mink Stole, Joe Dallesandro, Joey Heatherton, Willem Dafoe; released through Universal Studios; 85 minutes (Director's Cut: 91 minutes) $11,000,000 Rated PG-13
Serial Mom (35 mm) 1994 (color) starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Scott Wesley Morgan, Walt MacPherson, Patricia Hearst, Suzanne Somers. 95 minutes. $13,000,000 Rated R
Pecker (35 mm) 1998 (color) starring Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, Brendan Sexton III, Mary Kay Place, Patricia Hearst, Mink Stole, and Lili Taylor. New Line Cinema 87 minutes. $6,000,000 Rated R
Cecil B. DeMented (35mm) 2000 (color) starring Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff, Alicia Witt, Adrian Grenier, Larry Gilliard Jr., Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Noseworthy, Mink Stole, Ricki Lake, Kevin Nealon, Roseanne Barr, and Patricia Hearst. 87 minutes. $10,000,000 Rated R
A Dirty Shame (35mm) 2004 (color) starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, Mink Stole, David Hasselhoff, Patricia Hearst, and Chris Isaak. Released through Fine Line Features. 89 minutes Rated: NC-17 The film was given two releases on home video. #1 "The Neuter Version" Rated R (The box art covered Selma Blair's extremely large breasts; and #2, The original theatrical NC-17 version (Blair's breasts fully shown)

[edit] Writer (but not Director)

John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You (TV series) (2006)
This Filthy World (2006)
Hairspray (35mm) 2007 (color) starring John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Nicole Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, and Christopher Walken. Released through New Line Cinema. Rated: NYR (Not Yet Rated) The film will be released 7/20/07.

[edit] Actor (Films)

Pink Flamingos (1972) - Mr. Jag (voice)
Something Wild (1986) - Used Car Guy
Hairspray (1988) - Dr. Fredrickson
Homer and Eddie (1989) - Robber #1
Serial Mom (1994) - Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
Anarchy TV (1998)
Pecker (1998) - Pervert on phone (voice)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999) - Mr. Haynes
Cecil B. Demented (2000) - Reporter
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002) - The Reverend
Seed of Chucky (2004) - Pete Peters
Jackass: Number Two (2006) - Magician
Hairspray (2007) - Flasher who lives next door

[edit] Actor (Television)

Frasier, episode The Maris Counselor as Roger (voice)
The Simpsons, episode Homer's Phobia as John (voice)
Homicide: Life on the Street, episode Law and Disorder as R. Vincent Smith
Homicide: Life on the Street, episode Smoke Gets in Your Eyes as Bartender
Family Album as Vincent
21 Jump Street, episode Awomp-Bomp-Aloobomb, Aloop Bamboom as Mr. Bean
My Name Is Earl, episode Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck as Funeral Director
'Til Death Do Us Part, regular role as the Groom Reaper

[edit] Bibliography

Waters has published collections of his writings including:

Shock Value (1981)
Trash Trio: Three Screenplays: Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living, Flamingos Forever (1988)
Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters (1987, Revised Edition 2003)
Hairspray, Female Trouble, and Multiple Maniacs: Three more screenplays (2005)
Art: A Sex Book (2003) (with Bruce Hainley), an exploration of erotic content in the contemporary art landscape.

The photo collections:

Director's Cut (1997)
John Waters: Change of Life (2004)

[edit] Other works

This Filthy World (aka World of Trash) Waters' touring one man show, which was recently turned into a feature film, directed by Jeff Garlin
A John Waters Christmas A CD of Christmas songs, compiled by John Waters
John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You A TV show for Here TV.
Mommie Dearest on the most recent DVD release, Waters provides audio commentary for the cult classic film from 1981.
The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD (2006) - provides insight within the 'making of' documentary about Howard Ashman, the theatre (i.e. Little Shop of Horrors), and the inspiration behind the character of Ursula; Divine.
A Date with John Waters (2007), a CD music collection of songs Waters finds romantic.
Christmas Evil DVD release from Synapse Films, Waters provides audio commentary alongside the films director.

[edit] Trivia

In 1997, John Waters guest-starred in an eighth season episode of The Simpsons (Homer's Phobia) and played a character called "John" (drawn in Waters' likeness), the owner of a pop culture memorabilia store who becomes friends with Homer until Homer realizes he is gay. On the DVD release, Waters contributed to the episode's commentary track.
Talk show host Ricki Lake started her career by appearing in various John Waters films in the late 1980s. She has appeared in Hairspray, Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Cecil B. Demented and A Dirty Shame.
Waters was dubbed "The Pope of Trash" by writer William Burroughs.
According to Waters himself, he is often mistaken for Steve Buscemi and once sent Christmas cards containing photos of Buscemi to his friends just to see if any of them would notice. Buscemi, in kind, has been known to dress as John Waters for Halloween parties. This is referenced on Homicide: Life on the Street in the following:

Det. John Munch: [looking at corpse] With those beady eyes and that mustache he looks like a cross between Steve Buscemi, John Waters and Edgar Allan Poe.

Det. Tim Bayliss: Aren't they all the same person?

Stills from the announcement

For years, Waters has been seen in movie art houses announcing that "no smoking" is permitted in the theatre. In this brief filmed announcement, he stares into the camera and he is smoking and obviously enjoying a cigarette. He then goes on: "...which I think is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard of in my life. How can anyone sit through a length of a film, especially a European film, and not have a cigarette?" He then takes a heavy drag, with sneering "Don't you wish you had one, right now? Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... " He reiterates the "no smoking" rule, gently exhales and then snappily French inhales the smoke through his nose to suddenly end the 40-second spot. This short spot was filmed by Waters for the Nuart Theater (a Landmark Theater) in West Los Angeles, CA in appreciation to the theater for showing Pink Flamingos for many years.
John Waters appeared twice on Homicide: Life on the Street, once as a nameless bartender listening to a disconsolate Detective Bolander, and another time as a talkative prisoner awaiting transfer from New York to Baltimore (escorted by Detective Mike Logan who is turning the prisoner over to Detective Frank Pembleton).
Waters is an avid fan of Court TV and for a time was known for going to high profile court cases as an observer. Waters has been quoted as saying that he saw many of the same people who were court observers all around the country at different trials. Waters eventually stopped going to trials when more fans started recognizing him and went to trials to meet him. He didn't feel it was appropriate to the seriousness of the court system.
Played a member of the paparazzi in Seed of Chucky, in which he was killed by acid being poured on his face, melting it off.
Played a reverend in Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, directed by one of his idols, Herschell Gordon Lewis.
John Waters has been the subject of several documentaries such as Divine Waters (1985) (directed by Vito Zagarrio), Divine Trash (1998), and In Bad Taste (both by Steve Yeager (filmmaker)
John Waters has also been featured in Jackass 2, in a skit where he makes Wee-man Disappear; as well as deleted scenes with Steve-O, Chris Pontius, and Bam Margera involving a luggage cart, stairs and a flying 69.