Court TV Presents A Killer Lineup
PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 11
When Court TV first approached cult film director John Waters about playing the role of the "Groom Reaper," the host of its first scripted series, dramatizing actual marriages that ended in murder, he thought they'd asked him to play the "Groom Raper."
  Auteur, author: John Waters and James Ellroy both figure in Court TV's plans. (Chris Pizzello - Reuters) Television Blog |
Either way, he told TV critics at Winter Press Tour 2006, he would have said yes.
Instead he will be seen at the opening of each episode of " 'Til Death Do Us Part," attending the wedding of the happy couple, then guiding viewers through scenes from the doomed marriage until they find out how and why one spouse whacked the other.
Despite the disappointment, Baltimorean Waters -- best known for such flicks as "Pink Flamingos," "Polyester" and "Hairspray" -- says he's happy to be part of the show because he hates weddings and hopes that if the show is a hit no one will ever invite him to one again.
" 'Til Death Do Us Part," envisioned as a series of mini horror movies, was created by Jeff Lieberman, a cult icon of the horror flick genre whose works include "Squirm," "Blue Sunshine," "Just Before Dawn" and who can forget "Satan's Little Helper."
Lieberman declined to discuss whether he picked Waters to tap into his reputation as a purveyor of bad taste. He said he was looking for "the irony that's built into the idea of it all . . . that marriages that end in spousal murder . . . started out in a beautiful, loving relationship defined by a wedding. . . . It's not the Groom Reaper's fault that these people do this, so I don't think it's in bad taste, no."
"It's a thin line these days, as you all know, between bad and good taste," Waters chimed in.
Another critic wondered how, given that the show had a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek going on, they'd deal with the fact that "so many marriages involve spousal abuse when there's a murder involved."
"I am not interested in doing any story that involves physical spousal abuse," Lieberman shot back. "I don't think it's entertaining."
Even Waters sensed the absurdity of that statement:
"I'd rather be abused than murdered," he said. When John Waters becomes the voice of reason, it's time for us all to throw away our Thorazine.
