John Waters must be kvelling! This new film, premiering on Showtime this weekend, is based on the same tawdry, horrid crime which inspired one of his favorite books, THE BASEMENT, a haunting account by Kate Millett, which explains why Mr. and Mrs. Likens of Indiana should never have hired Gertrude Baniszewski as their child-sitter in 1965. Gertie is played by Catherine Keener, and JUNO's Ellen Page plays the plucky but in-deep-sh*t boarder Sylvia Likens, and I can't wait!

"I made her toast."

I'd like to see the film, but since I don't have Showtime, I'll just have to wait for the DVD.

Last year's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR starring Blanche Baker (Carroll's daughter) as the psychotic child-sitter was based on the same true story, although the names were changed for both the book and film. Although the film felt sort of like a tv-movie with really bad generic music ruining many scenes, it was still somewhat of a grueling watch based on the subject matter.

Thanks for that info, Jeff.

I corresponded with John Waters for a few months after I first read his memoirs of filth, SHOCK VALUE, which is one of my favorite books. I wrote to tell him that, despite his fascination with perversity and trash, I thought it was a lovely book. He wrote back that I'd made him laugh with that description. In the book he talks about how he'd "try out" friends by asking them to read THE BASEMENT, and how he eventually commissioned an oil painting of homely, evil Gertie. Visitors would assume it was his mother and try to avoid insulting him, to Waters' delight.

After I read THE BASEMENT, I wrote to him to discuss it, and I cast a version of it with his "people." Surprise - Divine, in my version, would not have played Gertie. That honor would have gone to Mink Stole. In my film, Divine was that useless neighbor who kept hearing the torture and yet never let herself do anything about except wonder if that's really what she had heard!

I watched this. It doesn't blanch from the horror but is pretty monotone, probably to keep a tight lid on sensationalism. It got terrible reviews at last year's Sundance and I think distributor First Look (also of THE DEAD GIRL--cheery place!) went out of business, so it went straight-to-cable (where it's gotten better notices from TV critics). Ellen Page is helping to break a few pictures out of movie jail, getting them post-JUNO exposure.

Waters would probably be bored with its (reasonable) tastefulness. SHOCK VALUE is a must-read, however.