Shock Value

About this book

""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.

Themes & subjects

About the author

John Waters

22 April 1946

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 s…