December 99

The last Dreamland update of the Millenium! Sorry - just had to throw that in there.

Speaking of the Millenium, the New York Times Magazine has compiled an online time capsule. In one section called Images, John Waters was asked to select an article. The above pages from The National Enquirer is his pick. Here's what he has to say for himself...

"My image is The National Enquirer's ridiculously mean and hilariously funny photo spread (July 27, 1999) of Sophia Loren accidentally tripping and falling off the stage at Harrods department store in London. Never has America's love-hate relationship with celebrity and fame been so deftly and succinctly captured."

He also was asked to select a book for the Words section of the time capsule. Guess what he picked? "Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious (1956). Indian summer is like a woman. The first dirty book the baby-boom generation ever read; the "shocker" they never got over." Visit the Times Capsule online.

Be sure to check out the latest featured Fan, Jim Hollenbaugh who visited the set of Waters' new movie - and then became an extra! Go on - read My Day on the Set of Cecil B. Demented, featuring Jim's exclusive photos.

November 99

We'll start this month with some sad news. On Monday, October 18, Christine Mason died of cancer at age 49. Part of the original Dreamland crew, Christine was the stylist responsible for so many of those beloved beehives, fierce flips and ratty messes. Click here for her obituary from the Baltimore Sun.

Richard Mann reports that John Waters spoke at the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival on September 3. One of the questions asked of mr. waters was if any more of his films are planned for release on DVD. His response was "all of them." He didn't elaborate on any specific titles or dates. The restored version of "Female Trouble" was also shown three times during the festival.

Christopher Barton discovered that JW has a role in Woody Allen's next movie. "Sweet and Lowdown" is about the life of a 20's and 30's jazz musician starring Sean Penn. The Internet Movie Database lists John's character simply as Mr. Haynes.

And finally this month, I'm happy to report that Dreamland favorites, Mink Stole, Patty Hearst and Ricki Lake have been added to the cast of Cecil B. Demented.

September 99

The Hollywood Reporter announced some news regarding Cecil B. Demented. Shooting supposedly begins on location in Baltimore this month, and so far the stars of the film are Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff and Alicia Witt. For those of you who haven't been reading Dreamland News over the last year, CBD tells the story of indie film director Cecil (Stephen Dorff) and his friends, collectively known as the Sprocket Holes. They kidnap a glamorous Hollywood actress (Melanie Griffith) and force her at gunpoint to star in their underground movie. Witt plays the director's girlfriend, Cherish, a porn actress who stars in the film the group is trying to make. In the end, Griffith's character, who goes by the name of Honey Whitlock, is transformed into a guerrilla filmmaking terrorist. Thanks to Wink Williams for the hot news.

August 99

Well, there's no real news this month about JW. All I've been hearing are rumours regarding casting Cecil B. Demented. I don't print rumours. So if any of my readers can cite a reputable source, drop me a line. FYI: The picture above is taken from a new book called THE FINGER: A Comprehensive Guide to Flipping Off.

An oddity I've discovered: Elektra's newest contribution to the world of pop trash is known as Vitamin C. Her single "Smile" can be seen all over MTV, but we Dreamlanders know her as Amber von Tussle. Yes, Miss Colleen Fitzpatrick who starred in Hairspray as the wig wearing daughter of Debbie Harry is trying to make a splash in the pop market herself. Here's wishing her the best of luck.

And finally, it seems Jean Hill will grace the stage at Wigstock this year. For those who don't know, Wigstock is the annual drag festival held in New York City on Labor Day weekend. If it's anything like her last performance at Squeezebox, it's sure to be a moment you won't soon forget.

June 99

The BIG News from Cannes, according to the New York Daily News:
"Artisan Entertainment, with three pictures in official sections at Cannes this year, has acquired US rights to "Cecil B Demented," from director John Waters. The picture, which begins shooting this summer, is about a group of indie film makers who kidnap a star in order to make the ultimate Hollywood movie." Gracias a Noel for the news.

Wink Williams reports that the world premiere of the Director's Cut of Female Trouble at an evening with John Waters will be held June 19th in Provincetown MA. It's part of the first Provincetown film fest. Tickets are a rock bottom $15 and can be ordered by calling 1-800-648-0364.

The Anthology Film Archives in New York City is hosting "John Waters Selects" during the month of June. The films he has chosen to screen are Cyril Collard's SAVAGE NIGHTS, Alan Cavalier's THERESE, Juan Jose Campanella's THE BOY WHO CRIED BITCH, and Michael Tokin's THE RAPTURE. If you're in or around New York this month, visit Anthology on the web at www.arthouseinc.com/anthology.

John has been spotted in many places since my last update. As you can see in the photo above, he appeared in a New York Times Magazine fashion spread for Mother's day with (drumroll please...) his mother!
The caption reads:
"John Waters, who adores his mother's leg of lamb, used it as a murder weapon in "Serial Mom" because that's the kind of guy he is. The bad boy director is wearing a polyester (!) jacket $1,340, pants $460, shirt $190, and shoes from Comme des Garcons, 520 West 22nd Street. Tie, Paul Smith. Patricia Waters's jacket $830, and skirt $330 are from Calvin Klein, 654 Madison Avenue. Scarf from Georgina Von Etzdorf. Shoes by Warren Edwards.

The glamour shot above, from Entertainment Weekly, shows JW with Traci Lords at the Hollywood Independent Spirit Awards where he was a keynote speaker. He appeared at the Baltimore Film Festival to present the Liz Taylor classic, BOOM. And showed up at the New York premiere for Bruce La Bruce's new flick, SKIN FLICK.

Spring 99

RUN - DON'T WALK to your nearest video store. Pecker is out! For those of you who missed it in the theater, now's your chance. For those JW junkies out there, now's your chance to own it and watch it until you wear the tape out! Or for those of you with DVD, burn out your player's laser. Get it from Amazon.

In regards to Female Trouble being re-released, John mentioned on IFC's Independent Focus that it would be re-released this year through Fine Line Features. Pecker has finally been released in UK theaters. And more news from across the pond: James Mackenzie reports that Polyester, Desperate Living and Pink Flamingos have been re-released on VHS but that they are edited! Example - in PF, the artificial insemination scene and the oral sex scene have been chopped in part; and the Chicken sex scene is completely gone due to the BBFC's policy on animal cruelty.

The cable station E! broadcast a two hour retrospective about Divine on Sunday, March 7th. The show was called E! True hollywood story. And for those Divine fans in Hollywood, you should check out Graveline Tours. David Greenall tells me that "for $30 you can sit in a 15 foot long converted Cadillac hearse and go on a tour of LA's murder/death sites. The hotel where Divine passed away was instantly put on the tour (all others must be dead 5 years or more to qualify). The reason for this being that Divine was the company's first paying customer! The virginal tour being a disaster. The car (no hearse then) broke down with Divine (not in drag) squashed in the back. He was not interested in anything on the tour but just wanted to see the hotel where Fatty Arbuckle allegedly fucked Virginia Rappe with a bottle. Now we all know this was supposed to have taken place in a 12th floor apartment of the Saint Francis in SF but Divine was having none of this, insisting the hotel was in LA. Not wishing to dissapoint him, his tour guide simply pointed to the nearest hotel and said "that's the one!". Divine went away satisfied! You can contact Graveline at PO Box 931694 / Hollywood, CA 90093.

The New York Times recently ran a quote from John regarding the President Clinton blowjob scandal. Here's what he had to say. And for those who'd like to read an interview from a Brit point of view, click here for the FHM Interview. Special thanks to James Mackenzie.

Recent sightings: JW appeared in New York as a GLAAD Media Award presenter. A nod to Noel for the news. Waters was in Grand Rapids, MI to give a speech for an 'Ideas & Issues' series. Thanks to Randy Apewick for the tidbit.

February 99

Who knew I'd have so much to say during the dull winter months...

The Internet Movie Database reports that John is seeking a studio for his long-shelved project, Cecil B. Demented. This film was originally supposed to be produced before Pecker, but the deal fell through. John, we wish you luck in bringing us your next vision on celluloid. For more on Cecil B, check out the following article from FRIGHT X magazine, donated to Dreamland by the frighteningly lovable Erik Vinyl. Fright X can also be found on the web.

For those of you in the UK, Pecker is just hitting theaters, so check your local listings. Also, the release of Pink Flamingos on VHS has been edited in the UK - apparently for cruelty to chickens! Don't they know, the Dreamland crew ate that chicken after fucking it?

All fans should check out the new John Waters and Co. mailing list. Just visit onelist.com to sign up. It's very low volume and won't clog your inbox with junk. Just vital Waters chatter.

Hopefully you were able to catch the Independent Film Channel's broadcast of In Bad Taste, Steve Yeager's docmentary on Waters post Pink Flamingos. Be sure to visit ifctv.com for the IFC's reprint of Odorama cards. Hurry before they run out! Thanks to Joe and Lex for the hints.

Superfan Beth Waldron reports that the American Film Institute is choosing the 50 greatest movie stars of all time, 25 actors & 25 actresses. Divine was nominated for "best actor" [why not best actress as well?]. There are 500 nominees, so chances are slim that Divine will win, but it's nice to know that he was thought of. Beth also mentioned that his nomination "raised a few eyebrows," which isn't surprising since he raised eyebrows all his life.

Our resident source or information, Joe Blevins has an ongoing John Waters music project. Joe says "there are *lots* of great songs used in JW's movies (the early ones are especially music-heavy), but only a handful of his movies have soundtrack albums." Check out my Waters Music page and help Joe track down some of those amazing old tracks.

And don't forget to check out the fans of the month...

January 1999:

The Baltimore Sun reports that Steve Yeager's film, Divine Trash [see News '98] has lost it's distributor, hence it's delayed release. We originally thought we'd see Yeager's award-winning documentary on John Waters sometime last fall, but apparently the version seen at Sundance differed from the version that premiered in Baltimore last year. The distributor Stratosphere who originally grabbed the rights to Trash decided the re-edited version was not what they were looking for.

In steps the Independent Film Channel. They negotiated a settlement with Stratosphere so Yeager can now seek a new deal. There is already a Yeager-directed sequel to Divine Trash called In Bad Taste which will be broadcast on IFC starting January 29th, so mark your calendars and call your cable companies. Too bad we couldn't see Divine Trash first! Endless thanks to Bill Hughes for his help with this story.

For those of you in New York, you can catch a premiere screening of In Bad Taste next Saturday the 16th at the Waverly Cinema on 6th Ave @ 3rd Street. The show is at midnight and tix are available at any Clearview Cinema or at Lips on Bank Street (at Greenwich). There will be a Divine Look-Alike Contest with glamourous prizes, free hors d'oeuvres and Stoli! Admission is free. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

I'm putting out an official request for any of you crazy Waters fans out there. Would you like to be featured on my fan page? Got an unusual story related to the Pope of Trash? Drop me a line and if I like your tale, maybe you can be the next star of Dreamland.

And finally this new year, I'd like to address a couple questions which people always ask me. First, do I know if Female Trouble will be rereleased this year on it's anniversary? Well, no I don't. But I've heard rumours - in fact, some from JW's interviews. So keep your fingers crossed. The second question I am often asked is how can I get in touch with John? Well, I'm not allowed to tell you! The one time I met Mr. Waters, he asked I never give out such info. So instead, I believe you can send fan mail through Atomic Books in Baltimore. And while you're there, buy a book!

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DreamlandNews © 1999 Jeff Jackson.