Edie the Egg Lady: Underground Movie Star's Life in Orphanage
April, 07, 2013 2:35 pm | Comments On #divine, edith massey, john waters, Movies, Pink FlamingosThrough occasional magazine articles, John Waters’ writings and stories, a few paragraphs in movie databases and my short film, “Love Letter to Edie,” brief snippets of Edith Massey’s life story have drifted along the edges of hipster culture in the 33 years since her underground movie debut in Waters’ 1970 film “Multiple Maniacs.”
Since she was a little girl, Edith had “always wanted to be in the movies.”
She struggled through a unique and unusually difficult life, generally in poverty while living and working on the bad side of whatever town she landed in. Her sweet, innocent personality, though, delighted millions of viewers of John Waters’ film -- especially when he cast her in his favorite role as an addlebrained old bag. Edie was fine with that. She was delighted to be the permissive, anything-goes-free-...
Read MoreSaying Merry Christmas, the John Waters Way
December, 04, 2012 11:18 am | Comments On #Christmas, john waters, Movies
I was X-ed off John Waters’ Christmas card mailing list for being too naughty by publishing my book, “Low Budget Hell,” but I still treasure his old cards.
This is not exactly a card, but an actual, full-size blown-glass working Christmas tree ornament, with a rubber roach inside. It’s the only non-paper card greeting he ever sent.
Now that his mailing list tops 2,000 names, of course it would be too expensive to send such a wonderful trinket.
I haven’t seen photos of it published, but it should be admired by the world, so here is a Christmas gift to all the fans.
Read MoreJohn Waters Needed Some Help on 'Crybaby' Swag
June, 26, 2012 10:16 am | Comments On #crybaby, john waters, Johnny Depp, MoviesEven though “Crybaby” was a Universal Picture produced by Brian Grazer, the $9 million budget was cheap by Hollywood standards.
Of course taking away studio overhead, and the nice, high-six figure salaries of the executive producers and John Waters, the music, choreography and other name stars, in some areas the cheapness showed.
As location manager, I can attest they strained to save a bundle in that department, but never mind. Swag for the crew consisted of 10-cent combs. No T-shirts, no mugs, no fancy pens -– a few plastic combs.
Again, as location manager, they were pretty much the extent of my “...
Read MoreBackstage With John Waters During 'Polyester' Filming, August 1980
March, 07, 2012 12:00 pm | Comments On #john waters, Movies, Polyester
Actor George Stove just sent over a photo of him with me and John Waters that evoked some old memories of the making of "Polyester."
The photo -- with John (middle), me as line producer (front) and George -- was taken in the basement of the Heavitree Hill home in suburban Baltimore that was Divine’s “home” in the movie.
The basement served as the low-budget film’s green room, make-up station, break room, conference room and production office.
Notice the coffee maker and church-supper sized cans of cheap coffee share the line-producer’s desk.
...
Read MoreConsidering the Risks, John Waters Led a Charmed Life on His Early Films
February, 10, 2012 10:31 am | Comments On #john waters, Movies, Pink Flamingos
Up until "Hairspray," John Waters’ actors never signed releases or contracts, and no commercial entity permitted in writing its products or names to be used. I just recently read a piece by James Egan, author of "John Waters: Interviews," who first met John during "Female Trouble" after John had called his company to purchase a liability insurance policy.
It was a shock to me. I had no idea John had insurance, and even though I was production manager for the next film, "Desperate Living," John never told me he had liability insurance for it, either. I understood that...
Read MoreMy Movie Dates With John Waters
December, 17, 2011 2:09 pm | Comments On #john waters, Movies, Robert MaierI first met John Waters as a crew member on "Female Trouble," his follow-up to his ground-breaking film, "Pink Flamingos." We hit it off well as young movie-crazy counter-culturists from the Baltimore suburb of Towson. Working together nearly every day until "Female Trouble" was released, we also became Friday night drinking buddies in the “art crowd” that prowled Baltimore’s Fells Point bar scene in the 1970s.
When "Female Trouble" went into distribution, John wasn’t so busy during the week. One night he called to see if I’d go...
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Description
Robert Maier worked with John Waters for 15 years on five of his early movies. He was also line producer on a dozen other low-budget films in the 1970s and '80s in New York and Baltimore before shifting his career to making public TV documentaries. His memoir, "Low Budget Hell: Making Underground Movies," was just published and is available from Amazon and other booksellers world-wide. His blog, regularly updated regularly with new underground movie stories, is www.robertmaier.us
