Everything about John Waters Filmmaker totally explained
John Samuel Waters, Jr. (born
April 22,
1946) is an
American filmmaker,
actor,
writer,
celebrity,
visual artist and
art collector, who rose to fame in the early
1970s for his
transgressive cult films. Waters' 1970s and early '80s films feature his regular troupe of actors known as
Dreamlanders — among them
Divine — often committing cinematic crimes. Starting with
Desperate Living (1977), Waters began casting real-life convicted criminals (
Liz Renay,
Patricia Hearst) as well as famous (
Sonny Bono,
Debbie Harry,
Tab Hunter) and infamous people (
Traci Lords, a former underage porn star).
Waters skirted mainstream filmmaking with
Hairspray (1988), which introduced
Ricki Lake and earned a modest gross of $8 million domestically. In 2002,
Hairspray was adapted to a long-running
Broadway play, which itself was adapted to a hit
musical film which earned more than $200 million worldwide. After the crossover success of the original film version of
Hairspray, Waters' films began featuring familiar actors and celebrities such as
Johnny Depp,
Edward Furlong,
Melanie Griffith,
Chris Isaak,
Johnny Knoxville,
Martha Plimpton,
Christina Ricci,
Lili Taylor,
Kathleen Turner, and
Tracey Ullman.
Although he's a
pied-à-terre in New York City, Waters still lives in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, where all his films are set. He is recognizable by his trademark pencil-thin
moustache.
Biography
Early life
Waters was born in
Baltimore,
Maryland, the son of Patricia Ann (
née Whitaker) and John Samuel Waters, who was a manufacturer of fire-protection equipment. 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.
The movie
Lili inspired an interest in puppets in the seven-year-old Waters, who proceeded to stage violent versions of
Punch and Judy for children's birthday parties. Biographer Robert L. Pela says that Waters' mother believes the puppets in
Lili had the greatest influence on Waters' subsequent career (though Pela believes tacky films at a local drive-in, which the young Waters watched from a distance through binoculars, had a greater effect).
Waters attended Calvert Hall College for High School. For his sixteenth birthday, Waters received an
8mm movie camera from his maternal grandmother, Stella Whitaker.
Early career
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
New York University (NYU) in New York City. The school, however, wasn't what Waters had in mind:
Waters has credited his influences among others as
Rainer Werner Fassbinder,
Herschell Gordon Lewis,
Federico Fellini, and
Ingmar Bergman. He has stated that he takes an equal amount of joy and influence from high-brow "art" films and sleazy exploitation films: "I love Bergman and
I Dismember Mama".
In January 1966, Waters and some friends were caught smoking marijuana on the grounds of NYU; 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 vehicles. 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 the fledgling
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.
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 scene from
Pink Flamingos, simply added as a
non sequitur to film's end, featured — in one continuous take without special effects — a small dog defecating and
Divine eating its feces.
Move towards mainstream
Waters' 1981 film
Polyester starred
Divine opposite former teen idol
Tab Hunter. Since then, 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 adaptation of the Broadway musical was released in theaters on
July 20,
2007.
Waters' most recent film, the
NC-17-rated
A Dirty Shame, is a return to his earlier, more controversial work of the 1970s. He also had a cameo in, which starred
Dirty Shame co-star
Johnny Knoxville. Waters has stated that his next movie will be a children's film titled
Fruitcake. It began shooting in January 2008.
Waters is currently a professor of cinema and
subcultural studies at the
European Graduate School. 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. As a
gay American, Waters is an avid supporter of gay rights and gay pride.
Waters has been known to create characters with alliterated names for his movies including Bo-Bo Belsinger, Corny Collins, Donald Dasher, Donna Dasher,
Dawn Davenport, David Divine, Fat Fuck Frank, Francine Fishpaw, Link Larkin, Mona Malnorowski, Motormouth Maybelle, Mole McHenry, Penny Pingleton, Prudy Pingleton, Ramona Rickettes, Sylvia Stickles, Sandra Sullivan, Todd Tomorrow, Tony The Tickler, Tracy Turnblad, Ursula Udders,
Wade Walker, and Wanda Woodward.
Fruitcake is Waters' next film. Production is due to begin in the fall of
2008.
Other work
Puffing constantly on a cigarette, Waters appeared in a short film shown in movie art houses announcing that "no smoking" is permitted in the theatres. This short spot was filmed by Waters for the
Nuart Theatre (a
Landmark Theater) in
West Los Angeles, California, in appreciation to the theater for showing
Pink Flamingos for many years.
Waters is an avid fan of
Court TV and has attended several 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 at different trials all around the country. Waters eventually stopped going to trials when fans started recognizing him and went to trials to meet him. He didn't feel it was appropriate given the seriousness of the court system.
He played a minister in, directed by one of his idols,
Herschell Gordon Lewis. Waters owns one of
John Wayne Gacy's paintings, which Waters says he hangs in his guest bedroom "so people don't stay too long".
Filmography
Writer/director
Writer
This Filthy World (2006)
Actor
Films
Voice
Pink Flamingos (1972) - Mr. Jay
Serial Mom (1994) - Ted Bundy (uncredited)
Pecker (1998) - Pervert on phone
Hairspray (musical) (2002) - Voice on Maybelle's TV
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2007) - Narrator
The Junior Defenders (2007) - Narrator
Acting
Something Wild (1986) - Used Car Salesman
Hairspray (1988) - Dr. Fredrikson
Divine Trash (1998) - Himself
Sweet and Lowdown (1999) - Mr. Haynes
Cecil B. Demented (2000) - Reporter
Seed of Chucky (2004) - Pete Peters
(2006) - Himself
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - Himself
Each Time I Kill (2006/2007)
The Junior Defenders (2007) - Narrator
Hairspray (2007) - Flasher
In the Land of Merry Misfits (2007) - Narrator
Television
Acting
My Name is Earl, episode "Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck" - Funeral Director
'Til Death Do Us Part - Groom Reaper
- Bartender, R. Vincent Smith
21 Jump Street, episode "Awomp-Bomp-Aloobomb, Aloop Bamboom" - Mr. Bean
Voice
Frasier, episode "The Maris Counselor" - Roger
The Simpsons, episode "Homer's Phobia" - John
Other appearances
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Dinner for Five
The Graham Norton Show
Graham Norton's Bigger Picture
The Graham Norton Effect
The Henry Rollins Show
Last Call with Carson Daly
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Show with David Letterman
Politically Incorrect
Real Time with Bill Maher
Ricki Lake
The Roseanne Show
Shootout
So Graham Norton
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
V Graham Norton
Documentary appearances
American Cinema
Biography
E! True Hollywood Story
Le Grand Journal
HBO First Look
The Incredibly Strange Film Show
Intimate Portrait
SexTV
Tracks
VH1 Behind the Music
Bibliography
Waters has published collections of his writings including:
Shock Value (1981)
Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters (1987, Revised Edition 2003)
Trash Trio: Three Screenplays: Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living, Flamingos Forever (1988)
Art: A Sex Book (2003) (with Bruce Hainley)
Hairspray, Female Trouble, and Multiple Maniacs: Three more screenplays (2005)
Waters has published collections of his photos including:
Director's Cut (1997)
John Waters: Change of Life (2004)
Unwatchable (2006)
Fine art
Since the early 1990s, Waters has been making photo-based artwork and installations that have been internationally exhibited in galleries and museums. In 2004, the New Museum in NYC presented a retrospective of his artwork curated by Marvin Heiferman and Lisa Phillips.
Other works
This Filthy World - Waters' touring one-man show, recently made into a feature film directed by Jeff Garlin
A John Waters Christmas - A CD of Christmas songs compiled by Waters
John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You - TV show for the here! network
Mommie Dearest (1981) - Audio commentary on film's "Hollywood Royalty Edition" DVD release (2006)
The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD (2006) - Interview on 'making of' documentary about Howard Ashman, the theatre (for example Little Shop of Horrors), and the inspiration behind the character Ursula: Divine
A Date with John Waters (2007), a CD collection of songs Waters finds romantic
Christmas Evil DVD release (2006) - Audio commentary
Narrated the award-winning 2006 documentary film Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Featured in the documentary film This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Breaking Up with John Waters - Waters' third CD compilation is currently in the works
The Other Hollywood - Commentary and opinions about pornography throughout the book
'Til Death Do Us Part - A Court TV series hosted by Waters surrounding stories of marriage murderFurther Information
Get more info on 'John Waters Filmmaker'.
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