The recounting of the journey is a real page-turner, but it can only disappoint after the first two sections of the book: best-case and worst-case novellas. (At least I saw him give a reading of Crackpot and even attended a screening of Polyester in Odorama at UCLA.) Then I promptly forgot about the book until Waters did a series of sold-out talks to promote it.

Somehow, he got his publisher to sign off on the questionable idea and I remember news circulating when a band called Here We Go Magic gave him a lift in their tour van. Last summer’s offering by Waters, Carsick, is centered around the 66-year-old filmmaker’s harebrained scheme to hitchhike across America. Why shouldn’t a writer have at least as much fun as the audience? And the way Waters conveys unbridled enthusiasm (or spite) and scatters references that go right over most people’s heads (but demand research by true fans) not only reinvented the idea of pleasure reading for me when I was an English major in college but influenced the work I did with Giant Robot years later. I loved how the essays in Shock Value and Crackpot were funny and entertaining and disruptive as hell but with bulletproof grammar and excellent style. But his books were perhaps even more influential to me as a person who writes for a living. Triply subversive! His early, lowbrow, indie films ( Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living) altered the way I viewed cinema and widened my approach to culture in general. Of course, Waters is also the underground filmmaker and champion of filth best-known for Hairspray, which was not only a crossover hit but became a Broadway smash that became an actual big-budget Hollywood movie. One of the Baltimore-based writer’s books is actually called Trash Trio and others have subtitles referring to obsessions and bad taste.

Lately I’ve been catching up with the works of John Waters. He lives in Baltimore.When a friend recently asked me what I’ve been reading, my response was “just some trash.” And I meant it.

© Flash Rosenberg WATERS is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist best known for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Cecil B. Live-drawing and direction: Flash Rosenberg ~ ideas drawn as they are discussed in real time ~Ģ011 LES Film Festival Winner for 'Best Animation'Įxecutive producers: Ron Qurashi, Diane Charles

~ Conversation Portrait by Flash Rosenberg ~Īrtist-in-Residence, LIVE from the New York Public Library In this conversation with Paul Holdengräber, Waters also offers subversive tips for how to dress, steal flowers and die. 'Pink Flamingoes' director and Pope of Trash JOHN WATERS discusses how his odd roster of role models inspired him to achieve neurotic happiness.

Role models by john waters