Director Rusty Nails went down to Park City, Utah, last year to show some of his work at the Lost Film Festival and soak up the scene at Sundance, which was going on at the same time. But his working holiday took an unexpected turn when, en route to a Sundance screening in a hotel, “somebody said that John Waters was there.” A fan of Waters’s films since seeing Pink Flamingos at age 15, Nails set out to find the director. After chasing a couple of false leads, he and his friends eventually tracked Waters down in the lobby. “We were all just talking, and he was fun to hang out with,” says Nails. The next morning, he continues, “I thought, ‘I should just call John Waters in his hotel room.’” A groggy Waters answered the phone. First Nails asked for an interview, which Waters declined. “I was thinking, ‘God, this phone call is about to end,’ so I told him that I had a movie I wanted to put him in. He was like, ‘Oh, really? Describe the role. Is it long or short?’ I was trying to figure, which is better? Long or short? So I said short. He said, ‘Good, I only like short roles.’ And he suggested I send him a script. I talked to him for another minute, and he said, ‘Are you going to the Sundance Awards tonight?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t have a ticket. Unless you want to give me one.’” To his surprise, Waters did. “Patricia Arquette came,” Nails says. “It was like a first date to the prom!”
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The Movieside anniversary shows will be held at the Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln, Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8. Both shows start at 8 and cost $10; Waters emcees on Sunday only. The festival kicks off with a benefit party on Friday, December 6, at 8 at Acme Art Works, 1741 N. Western, featuring film and video screenings, art, readings, and musical performances; tickets to that are $5. On December 8 at 6, at the Biograph, Waters will introduce a screening of his 1981 film Polyester, which will be shown complete with “Odorama” cards assuming the batch currently being printed is finished in time. Admission is $6 and proceeds benefit the Chicago Rape Crisis Center Hotline and Open Hand Chicago. For more information call 773-856-5220, go to www.movieside.neweyefilms.com, or see the sidebar in Section Two.
