After a week-long marathon screening of the artist’s cult classics, Coolidge Corner Theatre presented its 20th Coolidge Award to filmmaker, author, and visual artist John Waters.
The Coolidge Award, which launched in 2004, honors filmmakers whose work “advances the spirit of original and challenging cinema.” Past recipients include Werner Herzog, Thelma Schoonmaker, Zhang Yimou, and other changemakers.
Waters is known for his provocative, raunchy, and shocking films that indulge in what he calls “poor taste.” His acclaimed 1972 film “Pink Flamingos,” featuring the performer Divine, is preserved in the United States National Film Registry and the Criterion Collection. It is also banned in several countries—a stunning paradox that very few filmmakers can present.
Waters joined the stage with award-winning GBH journalist and moderator Jared Bowen, who asked Waters about everything from his writing process, to the election, to taking LSD at 70 years old.
“I make fun of the rules that outlaws live by,” said Waters, taking a political turn after ranting about the new “Wicked” remake for the first four minutes. “Now, there are more rules there than my parents had. But it’s coming more from the left than the right. I’m a radical middle person now. I’m a knockout neuter left over from the sexual revolution.”
Waters is recognized as a pioneer of transgressive cinema, centering his films around outrageous underdogs, outlaws, perverts, and deviants. Growing up in Baltimore, Waters was inspired by the “trashy” bad girls at school. After getting kicked out of New York University, he began making short films, screening them in Provincetown church basements and underground venues.
“My parents respected what I did, even though they were bewildered by it,” Waters said. He recalled his mother’s reaction after watching his film “Mondo Trasho”: “She said, ‘you’re gonna die in an overdose, commit suicide, or die at a mental institution.’ She was sort of kidding.”
But Waters has also dipped his toes into the mainstream: he wrote and directed the original “Hairspray,” a musical comedy released in 1988. The influential film morphed into several other versions, including the 2002 Tony award-winning musical and the 2007 film adaptation.
“It’s the most radical thing I ever did,” Waters said about “Hairspray,” calling it a “trojan horse.” He noted that the musical is still performed in grade schools nationwide, including Florida, despite the drag element.
“The kids don’t care,” Waters said. “The kids are never shocked by anything because they haven’t been taught yet.”
At 78, Waters has released 16 films, acted in dozens, and published over 10 books. He even hosts an adult sleep-away camp in Kent, Connecticut, attended by guests such as Debbie Harry and Patricia Hearst. He is currently developing “Liarmouth,” a film based on his recent novel.
“I think it’s wonderful that this is happening,” Waters said about the Coolidge Award. “It just proves that if you have a sense of humor about yourself and you’re not making other people feel stupid, you’ll be accepted eventually.”