His father was.
"I'm waiting very nervously," John Waters Sr. said, as he waited in the lobby of
By the time the movie had played for five minutes, the elder Waters was doubtless reassured; everybody in the theater seemed to be laughing - loudly. And since the 900-seat theater was sold out - which translates into about $80,000 raised for AIDS Action Baltimore - that created quite a din.
Once again, Baltimore's favorite black sheep brought a touch of
All this for a film about a band of marauding sex addicts seeking to take over Harford Road. Only in Baltimore, hon.
(Literally, only in Baltimore. Unlike Waters' most recent movies, this one is opening in the director's hometown before it premieres in
A Dirty Shame stars
Knoxville plays a tow-truck driver who's something of a sexual messiah, while
Few members of the audience knew what to expect, but no one except the director's father seemed apprehensive. For John Waters fans, the fact that the movie was rated NC-17, and thus was declared strictly off limits for children, proved a selling point.
"I'm expecting to be extremely appalled," said Engel Tomakin, whose boyfriend, Lance Baldwin, had a part in the movie. "But in a good way."
Added Baldwin, "I would expect nothing less from John."
Lauraville resident Edwin Wieczorkowski Jr., known to his friends as Mr. Wizard, has a small part in the film. As he waited in the theater lobby, he seemed unconcerned that the NC-17 rating might, in the weeks to come, prevent his 12-year-old daughter, Tiffany, from seeing her dad on the big screen.
"I'll get her into the movie," he said before the event started. "She looks like she's 16."
Both Knoxville and Blair, who took a few minutes yesterday afternoon to talk about the film, gushed over the opportunity to work with Waters. Both said they agreed to be in the film even before they knew precisely what it would be about.
"I just liked having lunch with him," said Knoxville. "To be in his film is, like, more than a dream."
Agreed Blair, "I would definitely be part of the John Waters camp, if he wanted me again."
Sprinkled among the crowd at the Senator were about 100 people who acted in the film. Among their ranks were 66-year-old Anne Hensler, a retired
"It was the opportunity of a lifetime," said Hensler, with apparent sincerity.
As for Waters? The beaming director said he hopes the Harford Road neighborhoods depicted in the film serve as an inspiration for neighborhoods throughout Baltimore.
"There are neighborhoods everywhere just begging to be erotic," he said. "Everywhere is sexy. Sometimes it just has to be encouraged."