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.