Isn't this the perfect John Waters anecdote: He likes the annual Tennessee Williams festival for its Stella yelling contest, which last year was won by a mime. At a massive reading in Chelsea Wednesday night presented by 192 Books, he often mentioned Williams, as a favorite writer who "saved his life" as did Genet, and as a role model because despite his success he "stayed Bohemian" unlike the social climbing Truman Capote. Waters said he liked Williams' "bad" work as much as good work and was glad to see it getting more attention now. He also said we should be fighting for the right of lesbians to be bad mothers, complaining, "Gay people have to be good now. I hate that!" He thinks angry is cute at 20 but "if you're angry at 65 you're just an asshole. After 30 you can't complain about your parents anymore. We're all dealt a hand. Move on!" Asked what his favorite NYC bar is, he said nothing since Squeezebox (to loud applause) because he likes it "mixed up where you can't tell who's what" and he's "against separatism." Asked about his early films he said, "People look at those movies and say, 'You mut have done a lot of drugs.' Well, we did." Asked who should play him in a movie he said he is a realist, unlike Aretha Franklin who got mad when skinny Halle Berry wouldn't play her and then rejected the suggestion of Queen Latifah. So he said Steve Buscemi, adding that flight attendants frequently lean down and tell Waters, "I loved you in Fargo!" Buscemi told Waters he gets mistaken for Don Knotts.
In their styles of dress, hair, hats, and tats the overflow, SRO crowd represented each point on the spectrum of awesome, from Hairspray girls to guys wearing Civil War caps. Street theater would be far more interesting if everyone followed suit.
Waters' Role Models in newly out in paperback.
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