John Waters, a director know for his controversial films that include "Pink Flamingos" and "Cry-Baby," isn't afraid to bring taboo topics into the spotlight. In his new film, "A Dirty Shame," Waters highlights sex - specifically sexual addiction, fetishes and the creation of an entirely new sex act. In a recent interview, Waters, a hilariously funny man, offered his thoughts on movie ratings, liberalism and, of course, sex.
Eagle: Is it true that people who get head injuries can become sexually crazed like they do in the movie?
Waters: Yes, there is a tiny percentage [that] have a sexual [reaction]. It's like their brakes go off. I mean everybody thinks about sex constantly. If you acted on everything you thought, it would be anarchy. I think that's what happens - your sexual brakes kind of give and it's like Tourette's Syndrome. But I had a concussion and it didn't happen to me. I don't know anyone that had a concussion that it happened to. I do know someone that had a brain tumor that made them talk dirty.
Eagle: How did you come up with the new sex act at the end of the movie?
Waters: It was basically something you couldn't try. I tried to think of everything you could try, but then people would say, "that doesn't work, I've tried it." But this - I don't know anyone who has actually tried it for sex.
Eagle: Do you think anyone will go and try it after they see the movie?
Waters: Somebody told me they were at one screening. I don't know. I think they were probably faking it. I don't think they were really doing it. It's not so easy to do. We had stuntmen on the set all day.
Eagle: What was your motivation for wanting to come up with a new sex act in the film?
Waters: Today kids really can't sexually experiment like when I was young because there are so many diseases and everything. So to me it's like, well maybe we do have to think up a new sex act. Imagine if someone did, how exciting that would be. Like a brand new one that no one had ever heard of that worked, that really worked for everybody, a universal new sex act that you couldn't get diseases from, you couldn't get pregnant. The pope would go out of business.
Eagle: How did you come up with the different fetishes that the characters have?
Waters: I read about them and I knew a lot about them, but I had to pick ones that are funny and weren't anti-women and weren't violent. There were just certain ones that I thought wouldn't lend themselves to comedy. It has to be something that you can use for comedy that would be a sight gag almost.
Eagle: Did the actors embrace the fetishes they were portraying?
Waters: Well certainly James Ransone, who was playing "Dingy Dave" who was always licking the floor, did. He ate that ashtray. He did want to do that.
Eagle: Is the movie meant to be an attack on intolerance and conservativism?
Waters: In some ways I'm attacking being a liberal. What is tolerance? Can it go too far? I guess I'm making fun of both sides in a way and there's no middle in this movie: You're either a "neuter" [characters opposed to sex] or a "sexer" [characters who are sex addicts]. You can't be in the middle. And I'm neither. I have more sex addict tendencies, but some of the things the liberals say make me laugh. So I guess I believe everything that's in this movie; I'm on all the sides in a weird little way.
Eagle: Do you think people will take offense to this movie?
Waters: I'm sure there are people that would be offended by this, but will they see this movie? I don't know. Look at the poster. This isn't a real sneak ad campaign. Do you think people will say, "I think I'll see that?" They won't. They won't hassle me because I'm a lost cause to them. And I'm not trying to bait them. This movie isn't for them. This movie is to give joy to people who have a good sense of humor about themselves and don't judge others.
Eagle: When you made the movie did you expect it would be NC-17?
Waters: No, I didn't and I'm still kind of amazed. I thought it was going to be R. I was totally shocked when I found it was going to be NC-17. Variety said they thought it was a little severe, the rating. I think this movie wouldn't have gotten NC-17 two years ago. I think with the moral climate of America and the fear. But it's so weird because pornography's accepted.
Eagle: Do you think if the film contained violent content as opposed to sexual content the rating would be different?
Waters: It would seem to me that violent content should be the one that's NC-17, especially if it's violence with sex, which this is not. Yeah, America loves violence and hates sex.
Eagle: Do you hope that fans ignore the NC-17 and sneak into the movie anyway if they are underage?
Waters: It's hard to sneak into an NC-17 movie because there's so few of them. [But] I hope they sneak in.
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In the words of Waters:
"Some really stupid people are great in bed."
"The real question that I think you can ask everybody is: Could you fuck a racist if they were really cute? I have."
"I pray for sex. Everybody does, they just don't talk about it."
"I ate my last cigarette when I quit smoking. Sometimes it works. Right before you quit - your last cigarette - eat it"
