John Waters: Does This Man Look Like A Child Molester?

Q: Whenever I show friends Pink Flamingos, they freak out at the Singing Asshole. They always go, "I thought you meant like Frank Sinatra or something," but they never expect that!

A: The Singing Asshole guy had an offer this year to come to a big office party in Boston and do his "act." I said, "Why don't you do it?" He said, "Well, the muscle tone isn't what it used to be." He did say he gave the video to a girl at work and she handed it back the next morning and didn't comment. Well, that's sexual harassment, I guess: "Ya wanna see a film of me?" and you go home and see the person who works next to you flexing his asshole! I don't know what Miss Manners would say is the proper comment.

Q: I find Pink Flamingos--all your films, really--very sweet-natured.

A: Well, I find them happy too, because my sympathy lies with the right person. You can tell who I like. Even if people are murderers, I can overlook that. If you suddenly realized your mother was a murderer, you would change your opinion on capital punishment.

Q: What do you think of capital punishment?

A: Oh, I'm totally against it.

Q: Gee, I believe in capital punishment for almost everyone.

A: Well, I have a friend who was sentenced to it, Leslie Van Houten. She proves you can be rehabilitated.

Q: But don't you think people should take responsibility and pay for their actions?

A: I think when something happened to you when you were 19 and you had the misfortune of moving in with a madman... I think there were mitigating circumstances. I think eventually she should be able to get out. But I don't believe in capital punishment under any circumstances.

Q: Well, I'm in favor of capital punishment, and abortion on demand. So I guess I'm basically pro-death.

A: I'm pro-abortion, but I don't believe you "teach" someone it's wrong to murder by murdering. If they killed someone in my family, I might take a different opinion--there is no fair answer. But at the same time, if your son or your brother committed a murder, you wouldn't want him to get the electric chair.

Q: Do you have a favorite serial killer?

A: I don't really have a favorite. I am trying to get someone out of jail, so I have to be clear on this: I don't think it's funny. What Serial Mom is about is the fame that happens from it. I think that is funny.

Q: I see John Wayne Gacy has run out of appeals.

A: Somebody said they read that Gacy actually said, "I hate John Waters." He said I lied that I have one of his paintings, which I do have. Somebody gave it to me for Christmas--I wouldn't give him my money! I am not a fan of John Wayne Gacy. First of all, he was the ultimate closet queen--he killed 32 people he slept with so they wouldn't tell anybody. He's never said he's sorry, he ain't rehabilitated and he's a bad painter.

Q: Gosh--a serial killer said he hates you? Aren't you a little scared?

A: [Laughing] Of that fat thing?!

Q: Let's change the subject. Whaddaya think of Ricki Lake as a talk-show host? Don't you think there are already too damn many of them?

A: One is too many! I think she does a good job at it. I certainly hope she does not give up her movie career. I'm very happy for her. She wants to be a TV star, always did, because it's more popular than being a movie star. It reaches more people. And if it goes into syndication, Miss Lake can back my next movie.

Q: Do you think your own career has taken a different path because of Divine's death? Would you still be working with him?

A: I think Divine would have been one of the neighbors in Serial Mom. I don't think a studio would have let me make this with Divine as the mother. It's hard enough for me to get a movie made--

Q: Still?

A: Oh, sure. It's hard for anyone. And even harder for it to end up like you originally wanted it. It's always hard, because of these test screenings. Test screenings are great the first couple of times. One girl in a focus group said, "I saw when he was dead, he blinked his eyes," and I never even noticed that, so I fixed it. What I don't agree with is when they have to fill out these numbers on cards: whether you check Good or Very Good makes a huge difference. I mean, compared to what? I think it's very destructive.

Q: Speaking of Divine, while I was writing questions for this interview, I passed a church in the Village that had a sign outside saying "Divine Worship," and it really threw me for a minute.

A: [Laughing] That's where the name came from, all the Catholicism. I always said I didn't name him after the character in Our Lady of the Flowers, but I must've. I read the book and loved it when I was young, but I just remember getting it from the Catholic Church. They'd always say, "This was a Divine thing."

Q: Catholics certainly couldn't have liked Multiple Maniacs--who will Serial Mom piss off?

A: I didn't make it to piss off anyone--but certainly, I always look for what the sacred cows of liberals are. I am a liberal myself, obviously, but this is not politically correct. You like her and she's a murderer.

Q: What do you think of Disney taking that scene out of The Program after those kids got themselves run over?

A: I think it was very stupid, because the movie was already a flop, so why go and spend more money on it? It might have gotten a little more gross for one week if everybody went to see that scene.

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