I took my friend Keri, who is a big fan of his, to An Evening with John Waters at Greensboro's historic Carolina Theater last night. I expected him to be funny and outrageous, and he was, but also surprisingly thoughtful, particularly in his response to one rather tacky question about the Manson family. Plus, he had lots of good advice for aspiring filmmakers, especially his emphasis on the necessity of making sure you had the rights to all the music heard in the film ("You're always willing to use your crazy friends as actors, so surely you know some musicians, too. Use their stuff, rather than well-known songs that are going to cost you more than you can afford if ever get a DVD release").

Keri was especially impressed with the gracious way he stayed after the show to make sure he signed autographs and posed for photos with everybody in the huge line, and that he didn't charge a cent for doing so. When she went to the Femmes Fatale Fest at the Carolina Theatre (not the same venue as this one; note the spelling) in nearby Durham last year, she said that Jessica Harper and Adrienne Barbeau were charging $50 a pop.

He's really spry and energetic for a guy in his 60s. It must run in his family, as both his parents are still alive, or were when his last film premiered. About which he told the following story:

Mrs. Waters (sounding patient and resigned) What's this one about, John?

JW: It's about sex addicts, mom.

Mrs. Waters: Oh, well, maybe your father and I will die before the premiere.

Waters acted politely impressed when I told him that I'd seen Chesty Morgan carrying beer back to the stripper tent at the North Carolina State Fair back in the early 70s, when my dad took me there as a kid. "She's still alive, you know. I saw her just a year or two ago. She owns a building in Florida and is better shape than she was in the Doris Wishman movies."

Here are photos of me and Keri with the auteur of Pink Flamingoes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/ianmcd/KeriJohn.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/ian...njohnwaters.jpg

Those are great pics!

Everyone who has had the chance to meet him has come away with the same impression that you did - I wonder if he doesn't go to cons like Chiller because the other guests would revolt if he showed up and refused to charge for autographs?

Yeah, Andrew, that thought had occurred to me, too. And thanks!

We saw him last week in Asheville. Leaving the event made you feel like you've seen the best rock band. He was warm, funny, engaging, and talked to EVERYBODY after the performance. He seemed genuinely concerned about my two video stores (I told him I'm doing fine), but I did let him know that we are still out there turning on newer generations to his films.

Last year me and a friend took Ray Dennis Steckler out to dinner in Vegas. That was one of the best nights of my life as we talked about everything under the sun. Unfortunately, that experience spoiled me. I wanted Waters all to myself for two or three hours and I left wanting more.


marc

Back in the late 80's, I was on the student union film board, and arranged to have Waters come to the Univ. of Kansas to screen several of his movies, and speak with some of the film classes.

Although it wasn't my intention when we booked him, it ended up that I was only one of us with a car, so I was appointed his "handler" for two days. IT WAS F****** AWESOME!

Most interesting person I've ever met. This was shortly after A. Warhol's funeral, and he told all kinds of stories, as he lit fresh cigarettes with the ones he was just finishing.

His is the only autograph I've ever asked for, and I still have my JW-signed pack of Camel Lights to this day.

I've had a number of contacts with JW over the years, some social and some professional, and he really is a genuinely nice guy. He is also fiercely loyal to his friends and maintains very close personal ties with many many friends from many periods in his life and places he has been. And I think this comes out in many of his films, which are quite life affirming once you look past the aggression and contempt for standards of good taste and certain social institutions, all of which certainly deserve the aggravation.