BOOK 175: CARSICK: JOHN WATERS HITCHHIKES ACROSS AMERICA: JOHN WATERS

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?

Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes 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? His real-life rides include a gentle eighty-one-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker's unexpected hero: a young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette.

Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion--and a celebration of America's weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry.

MY VERDICT: I am a big fan of John Waters, but I am afraid I was a little disappointed by this book.  I heard about it when he was interviewed for a radio show. He promoted it well and it instantly went on my ‘to read list’. The concept of a modern hitchhiking trip fascinated me. Unfortunately it wasn’t as interesting as it could have been and John knew it – which is why he filled a third of the book with a fictional account of the trip (twice). He wrote a short novella of the best possible thing that could happen on his trip and a novella of the worst. The concept is an interesting one and as a former art student I can say it has been blagged in the best possible way but from reading it you can clearly see he panicked that the book would not be long enough and added filler. The filler is well written and entertaining but it’s not what I signed up for and from reading other reviews I can tell other readers felt a little cheated too.

Film 806: Hairspray

Trivia: The role of Edna Turnblad was originally written for famed transsexual Christine Jorgensen. However, when the role of Tracy had to be rewritten, John Waters also rewrote the role of Edna in order to keep his friend and muse Divine in the production.

"Tilted Acres" was based on "Gwynn Oak Amusement Park" in Baltimore County, MD, where racial problems occurred. The scenes were shot at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Ricki Lake began rapidly losing weight due to the intense dance lessons she had to take for the film. She reportedly had to "eat like crazy" in order to stay plump.

John Waters' first PG-rated film.

A scene was filmed where Tracey finds cockroaches in her hair. It was based on an urban legend about a girl whose brain is eaten by cockroaches that were living in her beehive hairdo. While it never made it into the final cut, it explains all the references to roaches in the latter part of the film.

Film 798: Divine Trash

The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters. Intercut with a 1972 interview of Waters are clips from his first films and recent interviews with his parents, his brother, Divine's mom, actors and crew, other directors, film critics, a film curator, psychologists, and Maryland's last censor, who shudders at the memory of Waters's pictures.

1. Rare "Hairspray" Vinyl Soundtrack (1988)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104114139/rare-hairspray-vinyl-soundtrack-1988?ref=sr_gallery_20&ga_search_query=john+waters&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=all

2. Female Trouble Poster

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FEMALE-TROUBLE-1975-U-S-1-sheet-poster-linen-backed-John-Waters-Divine-drag-/170712001847?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bf3a6d37

3. John Waters - This Filthy World

http://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Waters-This-Filthy-World/dp/B000V3ODPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346676123&sr=8-1

4. John Water's Pink Flamingos 40th Anniversary Little Woodies Collection

http://www.etsy.com/listing/106412505/john-waters-pink-flamingos-40th?ref=sr_gallery_39&ga_search_query=john+waters&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=all

5. John Waters' Baltimore

http://baltimore.org/arts-and-culture/john-waters-baltimore

Book 73: Role Models - John Waters

The American filmmaker John Waters was always his own best creation — all the flamboyance of Wilde topped off with a stroke of Maybelline pencil across the upper lip and rolled, like a cigarillo, into one spindly frame.