When Joshua Grannell, 36, was growing up in Annapolis, he didn't realize how supportive his parents were when he was being "a little creative dictator." Most wouldn't have encouraged his creation of extravagant haunted houses, much less dress up in costume and sell tickets (as his mother did) or pursue a little-girl actor with a chainsaw (as his father did, after removing the chain).
Now they have the satisfaction of seeing Grannell's drag alter-ego, Peaches Christ, become a cultural hero in San Francisco and beyond. Peaches has turned the hosting of a midnight-movie series ("Midnight Mass") into freewheeling performance art. A six-part series, "Midnight Mass With Your Hostess Peaches Christ," aired nationally on the HDNet Movies channel.
Peaches also appears in Grannell's camp horror extravaganza "All About Evil," which gets the midnight-Mass treatment at the AFI Silver in Silver Spring on Friday night (at 9:30 p.m., actually) and at Creative Alliance at the Patterson on Saturday night (at 8 p.m.). With his debut feature, Grannell has, in a way, become John Waters and Divine, all rolled into one.
In the movie's timely story, the unhinged anti-heroine, the daughter of a zealous single-screen theater-owner, makes a series of extraordinarily successful snuff films to maintain the family legacy. They carry titles like "Gore and Peace."
The characters include a projectionist who has spent too many decades in the dark and, scariest of all, evil twins fit for a Diane Arbus photograph. The cast includes Natasha Lyonne ("The Slums of Beverly Hills"), Thomas Dekker ('Heroes," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), Cassandra Peterson (aka "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark") and Waters superstar Mink Stole.
Grannell says he owes his creative life to Waters. He takes special pride in presenting Mink Stole to the crowds who turn up for "All About Evil: The Peaches Christ Experience in 4-D!" But since Baltimore is Mink's hometown and Peaches will be making his local debut, Mink will introduce and interview Peaches at Creative Alliance. (Grannell will show up as himself for a Q&A; like this one.)
Question: Just how big an influence was John Waters when you were growing up?
Answer: Seeing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at Marley Station in Glen Burnie, discovering John Waters films and discovering they were made right down the road were all life-changing things.