On Thu, 4 Aug 1994, Donald Larsson wrote:
 
> "And any nominations for the William Castle of the 90s?" asks John Groch.
>
> No doubt about it: Steven Spielberg (except Castle would blanch at his
> budgets).  On the other hand, in the vein of Spook-o-rama and the like,
> maybe John Waters should get more ambitious--scratch n sniff cards are as
> far as he's gotten so far, though.
>
> --Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN
>
 
Well, Waters went a long way in self-promotion before _Polyester_ and was
a big fan of Castle, Russ Meyers, etc.
 
For a showing of one of his early short films, "Eat Your Makeup", Waters and
the cast members gave out candy lipstick at a beach.  Waters noted that
since this was around 1969, most people thought the candy was laced with
LSD and wouldn't take it.
 
For the feature _Pink Flamingos_, Waters handed out _PF_ barfbags at the
premiere.
 
More recently, to promote the video release of _Serial Mom_, cereal boxes
with Kathleen Turner on the front have been turning up at video stores.
(Turner holds a bowl of "Alphbits" cereal spelling out phrases such as
"Recycle or Die" and "Wear Your Seatbelt").  There were also cans of
_Hairspray_ to promote that film.
 
Personally, I think Waters, especially with films like _Serial Mom_ or
_Desperate Living_, has more in common with Bunuel than Castle.
 
 
Was it just me, or did anyone else notice the creepy similarites between
the slow-speed pursuit of Serial Mom dozens of police cars and a certain
recent nationally televised freeway chase?
 
Randy A. Riddle
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