John Waters to Direct Novel Adaptation ‘Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance’

Filmmaker John Waters is hopping back into the director’s seat after nearly 20 years to direct a film adaptation of his first novel, a deliciously “filthy tale of sex, crime, and family dysfunction,” Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance.

The story follows Marsha Sprinkle,i otherwise known as Liarmouth, a disturbed, lying, scheming, thieving master of disguise who is caught stealing luggage in the airport. But the question is, what happens when one insane man makes her tell the truth and her nickname no longer embodies her personality? Thrown in the mix are also her daughter, mother, and of course partner in crime, Daryll. The publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, describe this read as a “perfectly perverted ‘feel-bad romance.'”

“Liarmouth is the craziest thing I’ve written in a while, so maybe it’s fitting that my novel was shocking enough to jumpstart the engine of my film career,” Waters, whose work includes classics Hairspray, Pink Flamingo, and Cry-Baby among others, told Deadline. “Thrilled to be back in the movie business, hopefully to spread demented joy to adventuresome moviegoers around the world.”

The initial plot was conceptualized for the big screen and evolved over time to become the novel it is today, which is wildly different from how it began, according to Them. Waters told Them that even though Marsh and Daryll we part of the original idea the rest was “not even the same story.” His adaption will tell the original story, the one not told within the paper confines of the book. 

“In all my movies, I try to get you to root for the wrong person. But in my universe, Marsha is the right person to root for,” Waters tells Them in an interview. “I invite you to come into my world where you might not want to go, but if I’m your guide, I can protect you.”

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