John Waters fans won’t have to read the new screenplay books that he has coming out next month. He reads them himself, and voices every character, in an audio book collection that is being released in tandem with the print editions.
Waters and Macmillian Audio, a division of Macmillan Publishers, announced on Monday that the writer and filmmaker has narrated the screenplays of five of his movies and the screenplay for a sixth movie that was never filmed. All six have been compiled in “The John Waters Screenplay Collection,” which Macmillan will release on Oct. 21. The price is $26.99.
The six films are: “Multiple Maniacs” (1970); “Pink Flamingos” (1972); “Female Trouble” (1974); “Desperate Living” (1977); “Hairspray” (1988) and “Flamingos Forever,” a never-filmed sequel to Pink Flamingos, written in 1983. Screenplay books for “Pink Flamingos,” “Desperate Living” and “Flamingos Forever” came out in May. Screenplay books for “Multiple Maniacs,” “Female Trouble” and “Hairspray” will be released on Oct. 16.
“A collection of John Waters essential screenplays, adapted for audio,” Macmillan says on its website. “Listen as Waters himself narrates each role in the most delightfully deranged and iconic classics of American filth, camp and trash!…Waters voices every single character, jumping back and forth between all the demented roles.”
Among the characters Waters voices: Babs Johnson from “Pink Flamingos,” fighting to retain her title as the “Filthiest Person Alive”; Tracy Turnblad from “Hairspray,” vying to be a featured performer on The Corny Collins Show, and Dawn Davenport from “Female Trouble,” pushing the Christmas tree over on her mother when she doesn’t get Cha Cha heels, black ones.
“Finally, I get the opportunity no other film director would want: to go over the top of ‘line readings,’ beyond multiple-motion-picture-disorder into a new dimension of celluloid insanity, and perform every single role in my movies out loud for your twisted enjoyment” Waters said in a statement on Macmillan’s website.
“That’s right, from Divine right on down to the filthiest day player, I am now, for the first time, the entire cast of Multiple Maniacs! Pink Flamingos! Female Trouble! Desperate Living! Hairspray! Flamingos Forever!” Waters continued. ‘”Aural anarchy or cinematic schizophrenia? You be the judge. Go ahead, play it. You won’t believe your ears.”
Waters, 79, has narrated audio books before. His readings of “Carsick” (2014) and “Mr. Know-It-All” (2019) were nominated for Grammy awards. This is the first time he has narrated any of his screenplays. People Magazine had the first article about the collection.
“The John Waters Screenplay Collection” is available for pre-order on Spotify. To mark the release of the latest screenplays and the audio book collection, Waters will appear at the 92nd Street Y cultural center, 1395 Lexington Avenue in New York City, on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m., for a “reading and conversation” with Michael Schulman of The New Yorker. In-person tickets are nearly sold out.
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