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John Waters

Personal Information

Born April 22, 1946 (79 years old)
Also known as: John Samuel Waters Jr., Waters, John
28 books
4.2 (9)
86 readers

Description

John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. As an actor, Waters has appeared in films such as Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Seed of Chucky (2004), Excision (2012), and Suburban Gothic (2014). More recently, he performs in his touring one-man show This Filthy World. In addition to filmmaking and acting, Waters also works as an artist and across different mediums such as installations, photography, and sculpture. He has published multiple collections of his journalistic exploits, screenplays, ruminations, and artwork which exhibits regularly in galleries and museums around the world. In 2015, Waters was nominated for a Grammy Award for the spoken word version of his book Carsick, and again in 2020 for his book Mr. Know-It-All. In 2018, the government of France made him a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Books

Newest First

Art, a sex book

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3

Cult film director John Waters and art critic and curator Bruce Hainley offer a provocative and personal interpretation of the theme of sex and sexuality in art. They have selected a wide range of works, from graphic depictions of the body to abstract images suggesting or inviting different ideas of the erotic, and have arranged them into "rooms" just as in a real exhibition. Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Richard Kern, Sarah Lucas, Cy Twombly, Lily van der Stokker, Jeff Burton, Karen Kilimnik and Paul McCarthy are just some of the 70 well known artists in the book, which includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and video. The authors talk about their selection in a frank and elucidating conversation, presented in three parts. They consider many of the issues thrown up by the art and discuss - with humour and seriousness alike - how it reflects attitudes towards sex and the body.

Race of angels

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1

U2's place in rock culture is already secure, but still the world celebrates them as an "Irish band." In this book, Irish journalist and friend of U2, John Waters, attempts to pinpoint the Irish cultural genius from which U2 emerged. Piecing together fragments of a hidden ancestry, he articulates the band's unique magic which has captivated a generation. Is the band's "Irishness" the secret of its appeal? This book is a search of the essence of one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands of the past decade.

Shock Value

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2

""To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation."" "Thus begins Shock Value. And what a story it is. Packed into these pages are moments of incomparable humor, tenderness, and revelation, all suffused with Waters's sweet charm and mad-genius wit. Also included is a new foreword by fashion writer Simon Doonan, a close friend of Waters's and a fellow cultural icon." "John Waters, perhaps America's most successful trash filmmaker, achieved a new ironic sense of public acceptance in 2003 with the runaway success of the Broadway musical Hairspray. He first achieved notoriety with his films, and he's written and directed fifteen, including Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame." "Readers familiar only with Waters's movies may be surprised at just how extraordinary a prose writer he is; he's as gifted a memoirist as he is a filmmaker. Here is a true love letter from a legendary director to his friends, family, and fans."--Jacket.

John Waters

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8

Known as a highly entertaining and controversial filmmaker, John Waters is also an artist and photographer. "John Waters: Change of Life" is a collection of his still photographic works made over the past decade. Includes essays by guest authors and an interview with Waters.

Make Trouble

4.0 (1)
3

When John Waters delivered his gleefully subversive advice to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015, the speech went viral, in part because it was so brilliantly on point about making a living as a creative person. From an icon of popular culture, here is inspiring advice for artists, graduates, and anyone seeking happiness and success on their own terms. Now we all can enjoy his sly wisdom in a manifesto that reminds us, no matter what field we choose, to embrace chaos, be nosy, and defy outdated critics

Director's Cut

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Based on a true story, Arthur Japin's new novel is a tale of consuming love and artistic creation that reimagines the last romance of the legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini.In Director's Cut we enter the mind of Snaporaz, the lion of Italian cinema, as he slips into a coma in his final days. Having always drawn inspiration from the world of his dreams, he welcomes the chance to take account of his life and, in particular, his most recent love affair, with a beautiful but tempestuous young actress called Gala. Here is the story as Snaporaz tells it.Lured by the glamour of Rome, Gala and her boyfriend, Maxim, an actor as well, are hoping to be discovered when they manage the impossible: entree to the studio of the great master. Despite an age difference of four decades, Gala soon becomes Snaporaz's mistress, leaving Maxim, guardian of her secrets and her fragile health, to be an anxious and helpless observer of her physical and spiritual decline. As Gala becomes increasingly dependent on Snaporaz's attentions, her desperation never to disappoint him leads her down a reckless path to anorexia and prostitution before the one true bond in her life is restored.Snaporaz's intoxicatingly baroque--Felliniesque--account of the affair slyly challenges us again and again to ask what is dream and what is reality, and to conclude that the difference is irrelevant when such a genius immerses himself in his most natural element: the imagination. A dazzling tale from one of Europe's most celebrated writers.From the Hardcover edition.

Carsick

3.7 (3)
13

John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads 'I'm Not Psycho', he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash? Along the way, Waters fantasises about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? Laced with subversive humour and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion - and a celebration of America's weird, astonishing, and generous citizens.