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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2001)
fatoruary i ft. 2001 C ome M eet & H ear D onna D e lory T ime 3 OO pm D a t e : S a t u r d a y F e b 2 4 l o c a t io n NW 2 3 r d & J o h n s o n “I 've always admired Donna ’s voice; her songwriting is poignant and heartfelt. " — Madonna Donna Dc Lory has been a part o f Madonna's accompanying vocalist team for the last decade, participating in some o f the most world renowned records and concerts including “ The Girlie Show.” “ Blond Ambition Tour” and the feature film “Truth or Dare.” Donna signed with MCA Records as a solo artist and released her self-titled debut album in 1993. which spawned a Number One hit in Japan and a Top 10 dance hit in the U.S. The critically acclaimed album “ Bliss” has more personal and self-realized music than she has ever made. Offer good thru 3-1-01 EAST PORTLAND • 32nd & E Burnsid e S t. • 231-8926 IJU J3« © M ILLENNIUM NW PORTLAND • 2 3 rd & NW Jo h n so n • 2 4 8 -0 1 6 3 FIND OUT WHY OBT IS A "MUST-SEE" ON THE PORTLAND STAGE! JAMES C A N F I E L D S I G N AT G R E S Three stunning ballets-from classic to contemporary. March 3, 8-10 7:30pm March 4 2:00pm Keller Auditorium SW 3rd & Clay TICKETS: 503 2-BALLET or 503'790-ARTS OBT ticket office: 818 SE 6th Ave Mon-Fri. 9am-6pm S p e c i a l G r o u p Ra t e s A v a i l a b l e Come early. "Performance Perspectives' 45 minutes before each show NeRye Despite his heavy association with trash, not much high or low gets under the cultural radar of the Baltimore-bred queer icon. During a recent phone interview with Just Out to pro mote an upcoming appearance in Eugene, his first dishy and disarming comment was, “I know you’re supposed to interview me, but 1 want to know the local gossip; who bought Gus Van Sants house?” Not wanting to admit I had no idea, I made an unprintable crack about Finding Forrester writer and KINK radio personality Mike Rich and hastily moved on.... CM : But did you think it was more queer to have a 300-pound drag queen playing heterosexual female leads? JW: Well, I never thought of it in a queer way. To me, Divine was an actor who played a woman, but it was never revealed at the end of the movie that Divine was really a man. That was never part of the act.... In the old days, drag queens at the end of the act took their wig off, that kind of thing, but it was never an issue to me. It was odd because in real life, Divine didn’t dress like that character unless he was doing an appearance or being in a movie. Certainly, he wasn’t going to walk around looking like Ricki Lake’s mother in Hairspray! I don’t think any drag queen wants to walk around looking like an old hag! [Laughs] I do think it added a great edge to it. I think that Divine, of course, is a huge part of the success of my early films, and he was a great actor to me. He could say my words of rage, which were certainly queer words, but filtered through all kinds of out siders’ voices, rather than just gay. A fat person, a communist, a rebel, a black person— anybody that was not mainstream— I think Divine spoke well for them. CM : The content of your movies would never go over well with a conservative audi ence, but have you ever come under fire from the liberal PC brigade? JW: Certainly, in the hippie days! I never got a good review for the first 10 years of my career. I never got one good review. The first person who ever gave me a good review was Fran Liebowitz in Interview magazine, and she was a taxi driver at the time, not a film critic. And the gay press didn’t like me, either! Nobody liked me except crazy people and queers that hated...the rules. They didn’t want Christopher McQuain: What’s it like for you to be such an icon in the gay communi ty, having a big gay following, being called a “ gay filmmaker” ? John Waters: You know, the gay people that liked me from the very beginning were always the gay people that didn’t even get along in gay society! They were the ones where even the roles in the gay world were too much for them.... I mean, all movies need gay fans, Tm against the because, hey, gay people have always gone to the Disneyization of drag movies. They support the queens. Tm against that arts. I mean, they go to the they’re on TV sitcoms— M opera, they go to the lovable drag queens. movies, they buy art. With out gay people, we wouldn’t have the arts, so I’m thrilled for the support. I to be their mothers. I mean...when I was think it’s a certain kind of gay person, who young, drag queens were... so square. They hates authority and doesn’t want to be like wore mink coats, and.. .that was always what everybody else, that has always been one of the we made fun of, I think. By taking a man that biggest supporters of my movies. Although weighed 300 pounds and putting him in sometimes, to be honest, I get the meanest miniskirts with, like, the gut cut out, it was reviews in gay newspapers. making fun. I have always said I think families should run in fear when they see drag queens, CM : There definitely seems to be a kind not cuddle up to them! Drag queens are great of sharp “ queer sensibility” in your movies, terrorist warriors that gay people have. I’m very knowing and very campy. against the Disneyization of drag queens. I’m JW: Well, maybe it’s knowing and outlaw, against that they’re on TV sitcoms— lovable but “campy” to me...I don’t think it is. drag queens. I have more fun with drag queens “Campy” to me is worshipping Rita Hayworth. that just scare the shit out of you, you know? “Campy,” "kitschy,” I think both those words [Laughs] I met this one drag queen in New are over. I’m not offended when someone says Orleans, and I said, "You were really good,” and "campy," hut in Hollywood it’s a code word to she said [barking Southern accent], “Ah should say I’m too queer, so if they tell you some be, ah’m on crock!” I thought that was a great thing’s campy, it’s not good. “Cult” isn’t good line! J f T j either. “Cult” in Hollywoodese means the reviews were too good and it lost money. J o h n W a t e r s will appear 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at “Campy" means... fag. Just like casting agents the Hult Center in Eugene. Tickets are $18 and would never say a girl is “too butch.” They say, can be used for free admission to the University of “She’s a little ‘sporty.’ ” Oregon Queer Film Festival’s presentation of Divine Trash at 8 p.m. Feb. 17. CM : You haven’t had too many actually gay lead characters in your films. C h r is t o p h e r M c Q u a in is a Portland-based J W: Well, never just normal gay characters. writer and tireless observer of pop culture.
