John Waters, cult film director and the author of Role Models, talks about some of his favorite outsiders and what we should learn from them.

John Waters, cult film director and the author of Role Models, talks about some of his favorite outsiders and what we should learn from them.

John Waters will be reading tonight at 7 pm at the Paula Cooper Gallery.

What do Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Williams, a stripper named Zorro, Manson girl Leslie Van Houten and a couple of amateur porn directors have in common? Renowned filmmaker John Waters counts them all among his role models.

What is John Waters listening to right now? He let us know when he stopped by for an interview on The Leonard Lopate Show.

In Role Models, filmmaker John Waters profiles his favorite personalities—some famous, some unknown—who helped shape his unique worldview.

Trouble viewing this video? Check out the YouTube version.

Trouble viewing this video? Check out the YouTube version.

Filmmaker John Waters has been capturing cheerful appreciation of the American grotesque for decades. Film buffs with a penchant for the perverse can keep up with Waters on Netflix or at the local art house. But John Waters the visual artist may be a little less accessible. In the last decade he has been using photography and sculpture to embody the absurdities of American excess. His new show “Rear Projection” is on view at the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York from April 3 to May 2 and in Los Angeles at the Gagosian Gallery from April 10 to May 23rd. John Waters joins us for a preview of his latest works.

Look out! (c) John Waters/with permission

Catholic sins (c) John Waters/with permission

John Waters’ films have been shocking — and amusing — audiences for 40 years. His 1972 film Pink Flamingos earned him notoriety for its pure filth. But by the late 80s and 90s the mainstream was flowing more in his direction, and he was making movies like Serial Mom and Hairspray, which ...

John Waters' films have been shocking — and amusing — audiences for 40 years. His 1972 Pink Flamingos earned him notoriety for its pure filth. But by the late 80s and 90s the mainstream was flowing more in his direction, and he was making movies like and Serial ...