The film, which opened at the Cannes Film Festival, stars Melanie Griffith as a Hollywood actress kidnapped by a gang of terrorist filmmakers who force her to star in their underground film. The film is also loosely based on the 1974 kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, who has a cameo role.
“In all my movies I spoof the things I love not hate and that’s why I’ve lasted,” said Waters, 78. “I spoof myself first by saying I make trash epics. ‘Cecil B. Demented’ is my movie about politics, like the great political movie ‘The Battle of Algiers.’ Each one of my movies is a parody of a different genre and this was my political movie. ‘Cecil B. Demented’ was also about Hollywood but at the same time I don’t mind Hollywood. I got a lot of money to make that movie. When I made my early movies, I certainly didn’t even get a paycheck. So, it’s a sincere trade. If you don’t want Hollywood interference, make a movie with your cell phone. If you want to buy a house, you’re going to get Hollywood interference.”
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
The cast includes Stephen Dorff, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Adrian Grenier, Michael Shannon and Alicia Witt. Waters acknowledged the pleasure of hiring up-and-coming talents before they took Hollywood by storm, particularly future Academy Award nominees Gyllenhaal and Shannon.
“They were great actors who read for their parts, looked right and had the right attitude,” Waters said. “And they never said the word ‘journey.’ I never hire anyone who says that word. But I gave them a part that people noticed. And it was a crazy movie, which is what I love when people want to work with me. If it doesn’t work, I get blamed — they don’t. They get a plus for taking a chance.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Eric Mahoney, founder, executive director and programmer for the Yellow Springs Film Festival, is excited to bring Waters to Dayton and build support for the festival, which will celebrate its third annual iteration Oct. 2-5.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have Yellow Springs Film Festival host our first Dayton event featuring such an iconic artist who I have admired for decades,” Mahoney said. “‘Cecil B. Demented’ is such a favorite of mine and celebrating its 25th anniversary is incredibly meaningful. For such a young festival, I feel very lucky to continue to book filmmakers and artists of this caliber and am excited to start unveiling our lineup for fall later this year.”
An acclaimed documentary and a variety of short films
The Mini-Fest will also take place Friday, April 18 at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs. The program will include a collection of short films from Ohio native filmmakers (Eye on Ohio Shorts) and a screening of “Seeds,” an intimate look at Black generational farmers in the American South directed by Dayton native and Wright State University graduate Brittany Shyne.
Credit: BRITTANY SHYNE
Credit: BRITTANY SHYNE
Shyne won the Grand Jury Prize in Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival for “Seeds,” which was developed over a period of nine years and shot with black-and-white cinematography. The film brings everyday humanity to the forefront while exploring the decline of Black land ownership. Shyne will participate in a Q&A following the screening.
“There is a distinct voice and beauty in ‘Seeds,‘” Mahoney said. “The intimate access Brittany had to everyone in the film is really remarkable. It’s hard to get subjects very comfortable to open up and share their lives like that and she did a beautiful job building trust with everyone in the film. An intimate connection like that is really important in documentary filmmaking. She did a wonderful job.”
‘Telling a story is how you keep people interested’
The “Cecil B. Demented” screening featuring Waters is sold out and he’s happy to bring more attention to the film, which he regards as one of his most underrated.
“When I’m invited to (speak) I always pick a movie that didn’t do as well or maybe not as many people have seen,” Waters said. “And ‘Cecil B. Demented’ was certainly not a hit when it came out but it stayed and stayed. All my movies have stayed and stayed. They’re seen more today than when they came out.”
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
Credit: FACEBOOK PHOTO
As he continues to write books and scripts while touring across the country, Waters is determined to stay true to his aesthetic, delivering storytelling on an angle in unexpected ways.
“Telling a story is how you keep people interested and I try to do it without preaching,” Waters said. “Preaching is the worst thing — that’s why Trump won. Everybody preached political correctness so much that people got mad about it and voted for the other side. To me, you make people laugh and they don’t even realize you’re giving them politics. All humor is political. And I just try to make myself laugh first and then my friends and then my audience. Luckily, I’m enough people all around the world that don’t even fit in their own minorities that seem to like me.”
HOW TO GO
What: Yellow Springs Film Festival’s Mini-Fest
Where: Little Art Theatre, 247 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs
When: Friday, April 18; 5 p.m. Eye on Ohio Shorts; 8 p.m. “Seeds”
Cost: $15 for Eye on Ohio Shorts; $20 for “Seeds”
More info: ysfilmfest.com
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