| John Waters |
| Words: Andrew Davies-Cole | |
| Monday, 20 August 2007 | |
Curio enters the Filthy World of the maverick film maker.
Legendary film director John Waters is in Edinburgh
promoting his new film Filthy World. He talks to Andrew Davies Cole
about the restyling of Hairspray, nude chipmunks, and his hometown of
Baltimore. The new Hairspray film is now out. Is it in any way a John Waters movie? I helped in the sperm donation in that I got to help pick who was in it. I felt for it to be a success they had to re-invent both my film and the musical. If they had just done one then it would have failed. You have to make it seem new to people even if they’ve seen both - and I think they did. Hairspray is set in Baltimore like many of your movies. Ever thought of turning to Europe for a location? In America, Baltimore is a foreign country. If you ever come to Baltimore you’ll see that my movies aren’t exaggerations: they’re documentaries. I make foreign movies even in America. So location makes a huge contribution to how your films turn out? Certainly. When I make a movie the first thing I do is find out where the characters are going to live. I might sit outside your house with a little notebook scribbling. If you see me, I’m imagining horrible things that are going to happen inside your house. Then three years later I come back and offer you money to let me shoot it. They almost always say ‘yes’. You’ve been described by William S Burroughs as ‘The Pope of Trash’. A compliment? I thought it was wonderful: a moment of divine intervention. Are the sacred and the profane battling for space in your life? They’re not battling at all. The sacred and the profane interest me. Insane saints interest me. I want to believe in the Resurrection because I want to see what everyone wears. You used some animation to convey some ‘spiritual’ ideas in your last film A Dirty Shame. Will we find animation in your upcoming kids’ movie Fruitcake? No, because I did that last time. But I do find Alvin and the Chipmunks erotic. I always wanted to see Alvin nude. Would you ever consider making a film that took itself completely seriously? All my movies take themselves completely seriously as comedies. But I doubt I’d ever make a drama like Woody Allen’s Interiors because people would start laughing. Most of my films are about things like sex addiction and alcohol addiction. Things that aren’t funny in real life. Finally, John, what inspires you from day to day? The behaviour of people in Baltimore who think they’re completely normal but are insane. People that don’t realize how eccentric and peculiar and beautiful and wonderful they are. John Waters: This Filthy World will be shown at Cineworld 16 and 24 Aug. Related link Review: This Filthy World |