Groundbreaking filmmaker John Waters—known for beginning the careers of Divine, Mink Stole and Ricki Lake in such unforgettable films such as Hairspray, Cry-Baby and Serial Mom—is comin' to town and you better be naughty, not nice! The cult icon sat down with Windy City Times to talk about his book Role Models.
Windy City Times: Hi, John. I just plowed through your book. They just got it to me today.
John Waters: That's called cramming, isn't it?
WCT: Yes; I really liked it. It was injected with your life but such an homage to other people.
John Waters: Well, it was a memoir and it was reporting. It was a couple of genres turned into one.
WCT: Was there anyone you felt that you left out?
John Waters: Sure, but I did an initial list. There were no B-list role models. There is not going to be a sequel. They were people that I realized that I had talked about before with Crackpot, my past book, or in interviews. I didn't want to write about anyone else that had been in a lot of trouble. With Leslie Van Houten, I wanted to keep that separate and very serious. I wanted the tone to be correct.
WCT: I forgot about Captain Kangaroo and how much I loved him until reading your book.
John Waters: And he was Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show—talk about a lunatic life! He was both of them—imagine! He should run from the sight of any children, I would think. [ Both laugh. ]
WCT: I thought your book would make a good documentary.
John Waters: I guess, except a lot of them are dead. I always thought that Zorro's daughter would be a good movie. Growing up with Zorro, you think Mommie Dearest, but yet she turned out great. It seemed like Mommie Dearest's daughter turned out to be no fun.
WCT: Right! My friend dresses up like Joan Crawford and performs in a rock band called The Joans.
John Waters: I think Joan Crawford has inspired many spin-offs, certainly. I don't know what her daughter could ever say after, at the end of her career, she appeared onstage at The Castro with drag queens dressed as her mother. Talk about a serious book; I have deep reservations about that one. It came to that once she had no more stories to tell. Obviously she thought her mother didn't love her but in my book with the Baltimore Heroes chapter they knew they parents were insane but they loved them and they turned out fine. That's all that counts.
WCT: I love how your pencil-thin moustache even has a role model.
John Waters: Yes, it definitely does—a couple of them. Little Richard was who I always wanted to be. There were also evil people in thirties movies that had them. Also, in the singing group The Platters had one also. They were never white people. It's harder to grow.
WCT: Who are newer role models for you?
John Waters: As far as filmmakers, I like Todd Solondz. There are lots of them. I still go out all the time and see movies. But to become a role model they have to be around for a while. To me, calling someone a role model is a tribute to them. So you have to make sure they are one before you grant them that title. You can't just do something for a second.
WCT: I was thinking of Lady Gaga and how Madonna was her role model, and now she is a role model to many people.
John Waters: Well, she certainly is going to be a role model for millions of kids because role models are the first people that change you. They are the first thing that you see. The people that say Lady Gaga is their role model don't care about Madonna because, to them, Gaga was the first thing they saw. I felt the same way when I saw Elvis Presley and Little Richard. They outlived any rockabilly people ever or even up until today. I think role models are going to be the first way you rebel or the first thing you like that your parents hated. That's really important. Now there are so many hip parents, it's so hard. I am surprised there are not more Republicans!
WCT: I like that you said you only voted for Obama because he was a friend of Bill Ayers.
John Waters: That was the only thing the New York Times review said that wasn't funny.
WCT: I thought that was funny!
John Waters: I thought it was funny, too, but you never answer your critics. It was a nice review. I know it's funny because I have been saying it at college lectures, and everybody laughs!
WCT: I love your sense of humor. I am looking forward to the Chicago Christmas show.
John Waters: That's a Christmas show, a totally different thing. I love Chicago. It is the only place that I actually had a job. I worked in a nightclub. What do you call the subway there?
WCT: The L.
John Waters: Yes, it was a nightclub right under the L. It was a beautiful jazz club. It looked to me like a movie set. I always think Superman is going to jump off a building every time I am in Chicago. I love the weather in Chicago. I hate hot weather!
WCT: You are always on the opposite side of everyone else. You even have a book list of obscure books.
John Waters: Yes, some of them are obscure. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" was a hit book but most of them were not airport books.
WCT: You have to seek them out.
John Waters: I keep saying that my book is a beach book now that beaches are polluted.
WCT: Your current book costs the same as the amount you made your first movie for.
John Waters: Oh, yeah. It was made for 30 bucks.
WCT: Isn't that funny to think about?
John Waters: Yes, but way more work.
WCT: I interviewed Mink Stole last year and told her I wanted to talk to you so here you are.
John Waters: I see Mink all the time now that she moved home to Baltimore. She is doing great.
WCT: She is a sweet person—nothing like the characters in the movies.
John Waters: She is a really great singer. Did she sing there?
WCT: She didn't sing. She was in town for a movie festival but we talked about her band.
John Waters: She's good. She is in the movie All About Evil, which I went to the premiere of in Castro in San Francisco.
WCT: So what is going on with your movie Fruitcake?
John Waters: Who knows? You know the film business, and not just for me but everyone that I know, all the mid-price independent movies are not getting made right now. It is very different but who knows? I am trying to. If I don't do a movie then I will do an art show or write another book. I tour with my one-man show all the time. I've got jobs! I am not unemployed. I wonder if I could get unemployment? I guess not, because I am self-employed. I could go in and say, "Yes, I am the puke king and here for work!"
WCT: You will always have a job in Chicago. I loved the book and look forward to the show.
John Waters: Thanks. Well, come say hi!
WCT: I will.
A John Waters Christmas arrives at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, for its Chicago premiere on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m. If you want to say "hi" to John Waters also, a hundred tickets to the meet-and-greet following the performance are available at www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org or call 312-334-7777.
