Writer and director John Waters developed a cult following with Pink Flamingos, Hairspray and other films. At noon, “Think” host Krys Boyd will talk to him about how his hometown of Baltimore has influenced his work and about his new book, Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
Waters appears at the Kessler Theater on May 29.
“Think” airs at noon on KERA 90.1 FM – or listen online. Email your questions to think@kera.org.
To prepare for the program, here’s a sampling of stories featuring Waters:
Here’s a 2012 essay from Waters that appeared in The Wall Street Journal:
[The introduction from the Journal]: At age 65, Waters remains a celebrated figure for counterculturists but accepts that his time as a revolutionary has passed. Earlier this year, protestors at Occupy Baltimore built an encampment they called Mortville, a tribute to the criminal enclave depicted in Waters's film "Desperate Living." Waters supports them but declined to join. "I have three homes and a summer rental, and some of my money is in Wall Street," he explained. He champions younger filmmakers whom he says succeed in subversion, including Johnny Knoxville and Todd Phillips. At the same time, he reviles "the new bad taste," which he defines as entertainment that tries too hard to shock and lacks inventiveness and wit.
Here’s a 2011 interview from Financial Times (via Slate):
Waters sports a pale striped shirt buttoned to the neck, a linen jacket and a pencil moustache that is much darker than his greying hair. He pulls out an instant camera and motions us into a pose. “I take a Polaroid of every person that’s ever been in my house … from the phone man to the worst night I ever had,” he explains. He takes just one shot. “Nobody can see [it] until I’m dead and they’re [all] dead,” he says cheerfully as he files us away.
Salon featured Waters back in 2000:
Though it’s highly unlikely he will ever be honored at the Kennedy Center alongside, say, Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola, Waters will always be loved as our most sublime schlockmeister. He is as American as John Ford and as tough-minded as Sam Peckinpah. His movies are far, far cries from cinematic works of art, but the best of them have as much kick as a Rogers and Astaire double feature. It’s been a long, nauseating haul, but Waters, in true pioneer spirit, has made it as an American icon. John Waters was born in 1946, the oldest son of conservative Catholics, in Baltimore, the “hairdo capital of the world,” where all his films are made, and where Waters has proudly been a lifelong resident. (Baltimore’s mayor declared Feb. 7, 1985, “John Waters Day.”) The final chapter of “Shock Value,” his autobiography, is titled “Do You Have Parents?” and includes a picture of a droll Waters posing in the living room with Mom and Dad, who look as knowing as he does, as if all three of them are in on the joke. (At this point, they would have to be.)
Rookie, an online magazine, offers ways to dress up like your favorite John Waters character:
There are so many obscenely stylish characters in Uncle John’s movies that it’s A DIRTY SHAME to narrow them down to a mere eight, but after some intense analysis, I believe these are the chosen few. First, we must give MAJOR props to Van Smith, who was both the costume designer and the makeup artist for a lot of these films. (Some of his tricks included egg whites, potato chips, and dirt!)
Here’s a description of Waters' new book, Carsick, from Amazon:
A cross-country hitchhiking journey with America’s most beloved weirdo John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads “I’m Not Psycho,” he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash? Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? His real-life rides include a gentle eighty-one-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker’s unexpected hero: a young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette. Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion—and a celebration of America’s weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry.
