London Live, the capital’s TV channel interviewed cult filmmaker John Waters.
The Evening Show caught up with the director of the musical Hairspray to talk about which other musicals he would love to work on, thinks Benedict Cumberbatch would be too classy to play his life story, hitchhiking and his famous moustache. John is currently on tour with his stand-up comedy show ‘Carsick: This Filthy World Volume Two Live Comedy. Monologue’.
Speaking about the choices of actors who could play the iconic director, Waters said that Benedict Cumberbatch was a maybe, ‘But I think he’s too classy to play me’ He settles on Steve Buscemi to play him in a movie of his life.
In the interview he is asked what turned him on to musicals, he replied, ‘”Well I was one of the first ones to do it with ‘Hairspray’. I am waiting for ‘Ice Castles’ to be turned into a musical, the early bad films. The failures, not the hits. I would love to work on ‘Mahogany’, the one with Tony Perkins and Diana Ross where she’s fashion designer. That one would be a good musical, yeah. Or ‘Salo’ as a musical. But I like to direct movies. I don’t know if I’m a theatre director. I learnt a lot when we went through Hairspray on stage in New York. It’s just one master shot with no cutaways and it’s a completely different style of acting.’
And which one of his film is his favourite? He replied, ‘I love all of them because somehow I got them made. How I got any of them made is a miracle. I guess ‘Hairspray’ because that’s the one that did the very best although ‘Cry Baby’ may have been seen by more people because Johnny Depp was on TV all over the world. I like them all so maybe I root for the ones that didn’t do so well at the box office like ‘A Dirty Shame’ that was about sex addiction and starred Johnny Knoxville and Tracy Ullman.’
So what offends the director?
‘Bad romantic comedies, stupid racism, lots of things shock me. But dumbness shocks me. But people can be uneducated and be smart and really funny… more funny actually. They’re more fun. Over education can make you really dull.’
And his thoughts on pubic hair?
‘I’m sad that young people don’t have pubic hair anymore. There’s no crabs anymore. I hope it’s coming back otherwise they look like adult babies and that’s not a look I like.’
The Evening Show, every weekday at 6.30 – 7.30pm on London Live – Freeview 8, YouView 8, Sky 117 and Virgin 159
