Speaking at the New York premiere of the newly restored Multiple Maniacs last month, John Waters touched on the state of his first feature length film, Mondo Trasho. He said it would probably never be re-released because the music licensing would cost $750,000, and it’s not the first time he has made a statement like this. And every time I hear it, it’s a bummer. There’s an entire generation of Waters fans who have only seen VHS rips on YouTube or via torrents, and that’s a shame. These mediums are not suitable for an acclaimed director’s first film, nor are they exactly legal. Let’s get the fan entitlement out of the way. We’re not owed an official, restored release of Mondo Trasho. However, it would be a fitting way to celebrate Waters, particularly when the prospects of him making another feature grow less likely (something else he’s alluded to in the press, mentioning development deals for which he was paid but never materialized).
I’ve been thinking about what it would take for a studio or distributor to release Mondo Trasho today. It’s not just the music rights to deal with; there’s also the restoration costs. When the Film Society of Lincoln Center attempted to screen Waters’s personal print of the film during a retrospective in 2014, the print was so warped it was unplayable. It was that retrospective where Janus/Criterion approached Waters about restoring Multiple Maniacs. (That restoration played to sold out crowds, but the blu-ray release has not yet been formally announced.) Like anything else, Mondo Trasho would have to be profitable for anyone to take it on. It’s heartbreaking to think that John Waters–on name alone–isn’t enough for a company to deem it a smart investment. With the home video market radically different than it was even a decade ago, there’s a very strong case that it would simply be unfeasible to restore the film and license the music rights.
On the other hand, the home video market isn’t the only thing to change in the past decade. Filmmakers (and, by extension, distributors) have brand new tools and opportunities to utilize, specifically crowdfunding. If crowdfunding took the cost of the music rights out of the equation, as well as spoke to the fan demand, Mondo Trasho would be seen as a much less risky investment. Fellow midnight movie pioneer Alejandro Jodorowsky turned to crowdfunding to complete his latest film with campaigns on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Jodorowsky’s Kickstarter campaign brought in $442,313 with 3,518 backers; the Indiegogo campaign helped bring in an additional $329,235 from 5,667 backers. So we’re looking at 9,185 people providing $771,548. If Jodorowsky could bring in this type of money crowdsourcing, couldn’t Waters?
Humor me with a short look at prospective audience size. Since Waters has not made a film since A Dirty Shame in 2004 (and because I do not have access to home video sales information), I’m going to look to sales of his most recent book, Carsick. Based on available sales data, Carsick sold 60,000 copies combined in hardcover, paperback, and digital in the United States since released in 2015. For comparison, it appears none of Jodorowsky’s books have sold more than 10,000. Comparing a humorous travel memoir to a book practicing psychomagic isn’t exactly apples to apples, but it speaks to audience size. Waters stands to have a larger pool of potential backers.
What would it take for a successful crowdfunding campaign? Participation from John Waters himself as well as some great prizes. Start off with the obligatory digital “shout-out” for $5. $40 and you get a copy of blu-ray. $100 might include a t-shirt, signed poster, and/or tote bag. For $1,000, a piece of memorabilia personally licked by Waters. $5,000, perhaps a tea party with him in Baltimore or Provincetown (travel not included). $10,000, all of the above plus Restoration Producer credit.
I’m just one John Waters fan. There are many of us and I’m confident we’d all show our support with our wallets. It’s up to a company like Janus, or maybe even someplace like Shout Factory or Arrow, to take up the challenge. So, who’s game?