‘Humour is the Trojan Horse I snuck my ideas in with’
On his memories of Montreal: “We did a Christmas tour. It was the biggest blizzard/whiteout that Canada ever had. I’m trying to remember if it was Montreal or Toronto. The train had to stop so they could unfreeze the tracks. I was appearing at a punk rock club, and if we showed up, they had to pay us. It was illegal to go outside, but when we got there, all the punks were there. My memories are of blizzards and fairly lewd male strip clubs.”
When he realized he was different: “I was reading about beatniks and I wanted to be one. I knew something was the matter with me, but I didn’t know where to go until I read about bohemia. I’m still looking for it — except in Baltimore, which is the only place cheap enough to be bohemian in.”
On the influence of Ingmar Bergman: “Bergman had nudity, vomit — all the things I embraced. I was going to see Bergman on LSD; I don’t think a lot of people did that. And watching foreign movies and (splatter pioneer) Gordon Lewis’s horror films. All of these things influenced me to create a new genre, putting exploitation movies in art theatres.”
On the value of humour: “All my movies are about being non-judgmental. From Hairspray to Pink Flamingos, it’s the same. Humour is the Trojan Horse I snuck my ideas in with. My films are about outsider takes on society.”
On casting Ricki Lake in Hairspray: “She was Tracy, literally. I just loved her excitement and her joy, and her unselfconsciousness about being a fat girl. She could really dance. Only three or four girls applied for the part. We couldn’t find anybody. After that, for Cry-Baby, hundreds of girls showed up. It was a stampede of fat girls. I’m proud of that.”
On art: “I collect contemporary art. Art is another way to make people angry and make people laugh. People always say they hate contemporary art, because they’re too stupid to look at it. They say, ‘I could do that.’ Well, you didn’t, dumbbell, and it just sold for $2 million, so you better get painting.
“I remember I bought a little Miró print for a dollar at the Baltimore museum. The other kids said, ‘Why?’ So I put it up and thought, ‘God, think of the power this has.’ People say the (Andy Warhol) soup can killed abstract expressionism and minimalism. Each movement that came out infuriated people. Art’s job is to wreck what came before.”