John Waters - Quotes
Art is sex! more sex!
Waters, John.
Without obsession, life is nothing.
Waters, John.
Some call me director, producer, filmmaker. I prefer to call myself pube-king.
Waters, John.
I would never do hard-core pornography, because it looks too much like open-heart surgery.
Waters, John.
To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it`s like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
Waters, John.
I also hate those holidays that fall on a Monday where you don`t get mail, those fake holidays like Columbus Day. What did Christopher Columbus do, discover America? If he hadn`t, somebody else would have and we`d still be here. Big deal.
Waters, John.
I would love to make a movie for very neurotic children. But then perhaps, I`ve already done that. I`ve shown my films at children`s birthday parties. They just love them, like Punch and Judy shows.
Waters, John.
I believe life is nothing if you're not obsessed. I only think terrible thoughts, I do not live them. Thank God I am not my films. If audiences can laugh at my twisted ideas, what's the great harm? I had a goal in life — I wanted to make the trashiest motion pictures in cinema history. Thanks so much for allowing me to get away with it.
Waters, John.
I know I'll never make a sequel to Pink Flamingos because it would have to end with Divine taking a shit and the dog eating it. To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
Waters, John.
Irony ruined everything. I wish my movies could have played at drive-ins, but they never did, because of irony. Even the best exploitation movies were never meant to be `so bad they were good`. They were not made for the intelligentsia. They were made to be violent for real, or to be sexy for real. But now everybody has irony. Even horror films now are ironic. Everybody`s in on the joke now. Everybody`s hip. Nobody takes anything at face value anymore.
Waters, John.
Well, it’s a different world and I’ve always said that in the film world you have to pretend eight million people are gonna love it and in the art world, if eight million people love it, it’s really BAD. So it’s the reverse aesthetic, in a way. But I’m still using humor. I’m still trying to use satire and insider knowledge about some field—the movie business in this case.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
I say in my new book I believe in the basic goodness of people, yeah. I try to understand people’s behavior even if it is behavior that seems repugnant. And that’s why strangers on airplanes tell me the most personal things about their life because I think they just think I’ll understand anything and they probably didn’t pick a bad person to confide in.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
Well, everything I do certainly has crime as part of it. What is terrorism except big-time crime?
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
Baltimore is my home. I always feel like it is. Yeah, I love to be here. But you know my doormats say “Welcome Home” in the other two places too, but this is my real home. I ALWAYS want to be here.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
My art shows are the same thing as a movie. I have to think them all up before I do it.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
... what happened to the movie business? No medium-price independent films are getting made now. They’re either under a million or, a hundred million. And that’s because there’s no companies anymore, there are no foreign sales. The business has radically changed. I’m still trying. It is not just me — I don’t know anybody who can get a five million dollar independent film made today.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
Everything’s changed. Where they’re shown has changed. Foreign sales—there’s no such thing. The foreign sales idea is to sell your movies before you made them… With the recession that completely ended.
Waters, John and Elizabeth Suman. "The John Waters interview: on art, the suburbs and 'haunted asses'." in: Baltimore Brew. February 2, 2010. (English).
I’ll try not to do anything illegal while I’m there, which is a short time. So, for 24 hours, I plan to commit no crimes except verbal Christmas crimes.
Waters, John and Alice Levitt. "A Very Filthy Christmas: John Waters spreads holiday cheer in Vermont." in: Seven Days. December 2, 2009. (English).
I see drag queens on bikes a lot. There’s one that drives through town all the time on a little scooter. In Provincetown, almost everybody rides bikes. I guess it is hard to ride a bike in drag, because your outfit will get caught in the spokes. You get used to seeing pretty much anything in Provincetown.
Waters, John and Alice Levitt. "A Very Filthy Christmas: John Waters spreads holiday cheer in Vermont." in: Seven Days. December 2, 2009. (English).
The best presents, it’s not about spending money; it’s about something so perfect that you never even knew [it] was there in the first place. That’s the very best present you can get. And it could cost a nickel; it has nothing to do with what it costs. The worst present: fruit gift baskets. I can buy a fucking pear! You open it and there are six pears! That outrages me.
Waters, John and Alice Levitt. "A Very Filthy Christmas: John Waters spreads holiday cheer in Vermont." in: Seven Days. December 2, 2009. (English).
I’m always interested in the newest thing, you know …
Waters, John and Alice Levitt. "A Very Filthy Christmas: John Waters spreads holiday cheer in Vermont." in: Seven Days. December 2, 2009. (English).
I don't care what people do in bed, or if they don't do anything. I just don't think that everybody else has to feel how you feel about it, whether it's sex, religion or politics.
Walters, John and John Ozimek. "John Waters and Nigel Wingrove on censorship." in: Eye For Film. 2009. (English).
I think giving money is a rude gift. It means you're too stupid to think of anything, or the person getting the gift is so dumb that they have no interests.
Waters, John. "The John Waters Interview: Sheila Dixon, Teabagging, and Blowing Up the Three Kings." in: Washington City Paper. December 2, 2009. (English).
Anybody who wants to be a celebrity's date likes it at first, and then they grow to hate it. They're a plus-one. I've been on the red carpet with a couple, and the photographers have yelled, "Will the husband step out?", because they just want me and the woman ... Or they yell, "Date step out." Talk about a cock-blocker.
Waters, John. "The John Waters Interview: Sheila Dixon, Teabagging, and Blowing Up the Three Kings." in: Washington City Paper. December 2, 2009. (English).
I never feel like I've been cheated. I'm not a bitter person. I think I have a pretty nice life and I'm not angry about much. And the whole teabagging thing is glorious. What happened was, when the whole Republican teabagging thing started getting press, all the newscasters on liberal stations thought it was funny because it reminded them of Pecker. It brought a movie I'd made back into the news. I was thrilled.
Waters, John. "The John Waters Interview: Sheila Dixon, Teabagging, and Blowing Up the Three Kings." in: Washington City Paper. December 2, 2009. (English).
But Christmas is a pagan holiday, so certainly, if I had to make a Christmas movie, the patron saint would be Prancer the Gay Reindeer.
Waters, John. "The John Waters Interview: Sheila Dixon, Teabagging, and Blowing Up the Three Kings." in: Washington City Paper. December 2, 2009. (English).
I think it's bad luck to talk about something before you do it, it makes it not happen.
Waters, John. "The John Waters Interview: Sheila Dixon, Teabagging, and Blowing Up the Three Kings." in: Washington City Paper. December 2, 2009. (English).
I'm basically a snob. I look down on people that are getting married. I know gay people want to get married. Why? The whole wedding experience is such a terrible, corny, hetero tradition. First of all, they all have hangovers at the wedding because they got drunk at the rehearsal dinner. The parents don't get along. They're mad because all the girls had to spend money on a dress they would never wear again. The boys went out and got blown by hookers the night before, and the girls went to the male strip clubs and vomited.
Waters, John and Dennis Hensley. "Interview With John Waters." in: After Elton. April 1, 2007. (English).
I'd never want to be a juror. I'm too much of a wimp. I can't be responsible for somebody being thrown in jail.
Waters, John and Dennis Hensley. "Interview With John Waters." in: After Elton. April 1, 2007. (English).
Ask any person that's really fat, and they'll tell you when they walk down the street [that] no one will look at you. Every person averts their eyes. I don't think people feel as uptight about being fat as they did when I was growing up, but still, a fat girl never gets the guy in a movie. And she does in this movie, so she stands for every kind of outsider there is, beyond race, beyond gender.
Waters, John and Dennis Hensley. "Interview With John Waters." in: After Elton. April 1, 2007. (English).
I've performed 13 weddings. I'm an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church. I've had one divorce and none of them have killed themselves, so I'm happy.
Waters, John and Dennis Hensley. "Interview With John Waters." in: After Elton. April 1, 2007. (English).
I just have porno. But all the shaved muscle Marys these days — that doesn't work for me. I like amateur straight porn best. Bobby Garcia, he's my favorite. He does the marines. He goes from city to city being chased out. It's always amazing to me when he says, "Nobody's gonna see these." Well there's a video camera there!
Waters, John and Dennis Hensley. "Interview With John Waters." in: After Elton. April 1, 2007. (English).
I think fashion is a lot like contemporary art. Once the old masters of fashion were established - Chanel and Balenciaga, for example - the new designers had to destroy the old styles in a new and original way.
Waters, John. "Day Life: Untouchable Looks on Everyday People." in: 20 Years of Style: The World According to Paper. Collins Design. 2004. Paperback, 256 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0060723025. Buy it atAmazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.
There are cute people on the streets of New York City, but everyone knows it. Even the bums know how cute they are. There is not of naive or innocent fashion person in all of Manhattan. Just the thought of moving here makes you feel stylish.
Waters, John. "Day Life: Untouchable Looks on Everyday People." in: 20 Years of Style: The World According to Paper. Collins Design. 2004. Paperback, 256 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0060723025. Buy it atAmazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.
Here are some other fashion blunders that I think deserve public derision: I've always said that if you're over 20 you can never wear leather pants. Then there are fashion victims who try too hard. If you're not careful, fashion can turn on you and make you look like a big idiot. On the street, you always have to look like you're not really trying. You can learn this by spying on young people, who seem to have this flair. That's a privilege of youth. And it's not about money. If you're 20, money wrecks everything. On the other hand, if you're 40, you need it. I can't go to a thrift shop to find something to wear anymore. I now have to pay for my overpriced imitation of rags.
Waters, John. "Day Life: Untouchable Looks on Everyday People." in: 20 Years of Style: The World According to Paper. Collins Design. 2004. Paperback, 256 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0060723025. Buy it atAmazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.
I mean, Tennessee Williams could always be histrionic and over the top, but this one, the play is like it also, try to imagine it with Tallulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter….Tab told me that when they did the play the entire balcony was filled with Tallulah's gay fans, and every time she said one word they would start screaming….you couldn't even do the play right, the audience reaction was like Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Waters, John. "Filth 101." in: European Graduate School. An open discussion with John Waters. August 2001. (English).
Now, melodramatic movies, that's a genre you don't see so much anymore.
Waters, John. "Filth 101." in: European Graduate School. An open discussion with John Waters. August 2001. (English).
I direct every actor in my movies to say the lines completely as they believe it, never wink at the audience, because people who come to my movies know they're supposed to be funny, I don't have to say 'get it? get it?' Even when Stephen Dorff had to lick the Panavision camera I said 'do it like you're so overcome by the love of film that you have to lick a camera, don't ever wink…' and I think it's funnier that way. What you're saying about Hollywood is that they're dumbing it up, they always say 'make sure people get it'. I think you can make different jokes…
Waters, John. "Filth 101." in: European Graduate School. An open discussion with John Waters. August 2001. (English).
The best bad taste is when they're not in on the joke. 'Showgirls'…he made that movie seriously, but it couldn't be funnier. 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' is a good example of a really great bad taste movie.
Waters, John. "Filth 101." in: European Graduate School. An open discussion with John Waters. August 2001. (English).
Well, but it looked fake. the difference is you know Divine ate shit but you know that wasn't real cum in her hair. Nobody thought that they said 'come here….' No one thought that. Even the dumbest people, they don't watch 'Chainsaw Massacre' and say 'do you think they were really hurt?'
Waters, John. "Filth 101." in: European Graduate School. An open discussion with John Waters. August 2001. (English).