Where The Boys Are...

In honor of Pride here's a Meme of Traci Lords as Wanda in John Waters Cry-Baby. She's here to remind all you guys out there why you really attend Pride festivals.

"Yes" it's the hot boys, duh. 

Don't try to deny it men, we all know what you are like and we all know what you want. Me especially, since I happen to be on Team Dorothy as well.

There's no shame in the game, simply think of it as another reason to be Proud!

Cry-Baby on IMDb -

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099329/  

Cry-Baby Turns 30!

Can you believe John Waters Cry-Baby is officially 30 years old?! Neither can I! I remember seeing it at a screening on the Universal back lot. Well last night I went to a to do about this classic up on The Montalban Rooftop in Hollywood!

The event was organized by Meghan Law and hosted by Wanda Woodward herself Traci Lords. Let the good times roll, here are some photos from the evening that you missed and I didn't.

The One The Only Traci Lords

Yours Truly & Traci Lords

Drag Superstar Eureka O'Hara & Friend

Moi & Meghan Law

Make-Up Artist/Filmmaker Robert Hensley & Friend


Cry-Baby on Rotten Tomatoes -
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cry_baby

Michael's Musings

Write Now
Michael Shinafelt

"Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, Towering over your head, Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes, And she's gone" - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, The Beatles

While I have never been a huge fan of The Beatles they don't suck either. I woke this ayem with this song in my head. Obviously they did something effective, the tone for the day is set minions. I wonder what comes next???

Closer with Jude Law, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman & Julia Roberts was on HBO last night. I really love that film

Today's burning question? Why does anyone need to know the way to San Jose? Asking for a friend...

Hitting the 30th Anniversary Screening of John Waters Cry-Baby up on The Montalban rooftop tonight - Yeah, there's that. 

Lying is the most fun you can have without taking off your clothes, the more you know

I wanna hold your gland

Surprise of the week - Billie Eilish winning five Grammy's and Lizzo winning merely three

Know any lubricant scholars?

I often app with no filter

Woman Crush of the Week - Alyssa Milano for being fearless in her activism 

Fact: Sometimes people say mean things because they are sad

Would you like a penguin for your Birthday?

Dare - let's all try to stop being ridiculous for 10 whole minutes 

There is no one more wrong than Tom Sandoval on Vanderpump Rules

Scrubbed, Tubbed and ready to love

It's not like trying to find Waldo, I'm here for you at the links below -
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/MShinafelt    

Traci Lords Pin-Up Girl

It's The Traci Dress!
Traci Lords & John Waters

Actress, Singer, Author, Songwriter, Icon these are the adjectives that come up when you mention the name Traci Lords.

Well saddle up because there is a new adjective in town to add to Traci's resume: Clothing Designer.

That's correct Traci has a new vintage clothing line from a design company with the moniker Pin-Up Girl a company that meshes seamlessly with her fashion sense and image.

Tired of having to alter pieces to flatter her curvy figure Traci set out to design ready to wear clothes for women like herself. The line also has a shout out to her character Wanda Woodward from John Waters Cry-Baby. Hey guys she didn't forget us, there is a T-shirt that was made just for us men as well. Time for Traci!

MS: Hey, Traci how's your day going?

TL: Fine, I'm just recovering from a whirlwind last week at Burger Boogaloo.

MS: Was it a good time?

Beat It Creep!
Traci & Laura Byrnes of Pin-Up Girl

TL: Yeah, it was a lot of fun! I've never been to it before, they do it every year. It's like a punk rock, rockabilly festival. It's all outside and it's in Oakland, CA, Jello Biafra was the DJ there. John Waters had done it last year, he was the Mister of ceremonies so when it came up this year they asked me to co-host it with him. I knew it was a big deal when I had family in town the week before and my nephew who is twenty-six now asked "What are you doing aunt Traci?" I told him I was going to MC an event where a band called The Mummies were playing. He said "The Mummies, oh my god!" They were all dressed like mummies, they were pretty groovy. The clientele was really great too sometimes the nicest people you meet are the ones covered in tattoos and dressed in leather, and the conservative looking ones in the suits are the ones you have to watch out for. You can't judge a book by it's cover.

MS: Let's talk fashion, give us the 411 on your clothing line.

TL: I'm doing this collab with Pin-Up Girl Clothing so I got to take my new "Beat It Creep" shirts to the festival. I also wore two samples of my Traci Dress which is a red halter just below the knees in homage to my Wanda dress from Cry-Baby. The fans were really delighted and supportive, they squealed, they loved getting a glimpse of Wanda! The week before I thought "I can't possibly host this event with John Waters without the Traci Dress."

MS: When first I heard about your clothing line I was intrigued. Is it based on Wanda?

                                                           Traci as Wanda 
                                                              In Cry-Baby

TL: The line isn't really based on Wanda, I realized Pin-Up Girl and myself have the same fan base. My female fans who love Wanda tend to dress up in more retro/pin-up inspired clothing. All these women are looking for empowerment, some sort of strong female bad ass prototype. Wanda has become such an icon for rockabilly/punk/pin-up scene, she just really is. I'm not kidding, I have my little baby Wanda's who are six years old that I have pictures of and those little girls they just love the songs. John made Cry-Baby so musical and so much fun to sing with, kids just love that! 

Then I have the women with tattoos and they're dressed like a pin-up. They are straight women who have families and all that, and they all want me to sign their breasts, every one of them. They say "just sign right here on my cleavage" so there are all these women walking around with gorge dresses on with my name across their breasts (laughs) It's really funny it's like "OK, right on!" - over the years it's really wild, men and women show up with my name tattoo'd on their bodies where I've signed it, I'm thinking "tattoos are forever are you sure you want to do that?!" (both laugh) The clothes I am doing with Pin-Up Girl are day wear, like that cool skirt with the hip/retro vibe that's ready to wear and you don't have to squash your body into. I'm not a large woman, but I am all legs and have a short torso, so it seems like everything always has to be moved to fit right, and I was tired of squeezing my boobs into dresses to make them work. This idea came from a desire to have clothes that were custom made for me and women like me that look amazing and aren't made for a twenty year old. These clothes are for women who want to look cool, elegant and sexy in their forties.

MS: Tell me about "Swedish Dicks."

TL: Peter Stormare and his partner own a detective agency and they had the bad luck of opening it across the street from my agency. My character sees herself as the finest detective in all of Los Angeles, I think I have the biggest dick of all! 

MS: You might! (both laughing)

TL: I know! She has a little bit of Jane Lynch from "Glee," she's very blunt about what she says and uses all of her feminine wiles to get what she wants. She is such a fun part to play. It's dark comedy with off quirky little bits here and there as well.

Traci, Gunnar & Jeff

MS: I have to ask about "Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre"...

TL: My husband rented it I haven't seen it yet, it's on my list. My son watched, this is horrible but this is what happens when I'm out of town, My husband and my son watched "Sharknado" I'm worried about Gunnar being afraid. Gunnar then told me about it when I got home "It was the stupidest, most hilarious movie I have ever seen, the shark went flying through the air and ate this guy and only his legs were left, and there was what looked like paint from my paint set!" He just thought it was hilarious! With "Sharkansas" I think what I'm going to do...he can see the parts that I'm in with Corey Landis because we are the detectives, that was actually a really fun role to play, but some of the cheesy stuff with the prison girls, I think we will go ahead and edit that out.(laughs)

MS: He stole the show on "Celebrity Wife Swap."

TL: He thinks he's a TV Star because of that, it's just hilarious! He tells me, this is just so funny that his plan is he wants to be a scientist. What he tells me he is going to do is graduate High School and make one or two movies so that he can finance his career (both laugh) this is his plan! Which made me laugh, it's less work for me!

MS: You will be jetting of to Williamsburg, VA soon for "Scares That Care."

TL: Yes, it's a 501 non-profit, it's a really great one. All of the money from it goes to helping families who are facing serious hardships, things that are insurmountable like a family member who has cancer. It's all 100% volunteer, nobody is paid salary or anything like that. The money really makes a difference. All ticket sales all the money goes to the people who need it. I've never been to Williamsburg it's supposed to be a very cool place historically, I'm looking forward to that. 

MS: I feel that if you are in a position or have a platform to help you should. The more open I am to that the better I feel.

TL: Especially when it hits that close to home. I am sure it doesn't surprise you that I had a lot of hardship in my family when I was growing up. There was nothing like "Scares That Care" at the time to help. Children Of The Night is another organization that is near and dear to my heart, it helps young girls really transform their lives. It's really important, human trafficking is really a big deal Los Angeles is the hub of it, it's unbelievable and not sexy. You are talking about young girls who are having their lives taken away from them.

MS: You've got a lot going on, all the best on the clothing line.

TL: Here's a fun little factoid, my old friend Shirley Manson of Garbage, used to be with a band called Angel Fish that was on the same label I was Radioactive Records. She just Tweeted me a couple of days ago that she wanted a pink and a black "Beat It Creep" T-shirt. I'm very flattered that she wants to wear them.

MS: By the way I would love to have one of the men's T-shirts.

TL: I think that can be arranged. (laughs)

Traci on the net:
https://twitter.com/thetracilords?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/tracilords
https://www.instagram.com/tracilords/

Pin-Up Girl Clothing:
https://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/   

Film Buff Friday: Forbidden Zone

Forbidden Zone was one of the most notorious indie films that I saw in my cinematic formative years. I am excited for this Ultimate Edition coming out in September! Not to mention it stars the late great Susan Tyrell who I had the pleasure of hanging out with, but that's a story for another place and time... Richard Elfman's FORBIDDEN ZONE  the  ULTIMATE EDITION The "Citizen Kane" of underground movies! Coming on September 29th Digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and Soundtrack Packages Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone, starring Herve Villechaize (Fantasy Island) and Susan Tyrell (Fat City, Cry-Baby) and featuring original music by Danny Elfman, will make it's way to the home video market on September 29th in various forms including Digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and soundtrack packages. Each edition contains the black and white and color transfers of the film. In the film sexy Frenchy falls into an insane underworld ruled by a horny little king and his jealous queen. Chicken-boy comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself--played by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Frog butlers, topless princesses and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers by Danny Elfman, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and other greats. Forbidden Zone is truly a ground-breaking, fun-filled timeless classic! Elfman says: "Forbidden Zone, the Ultimate Edition is coming shortly to DVD and Blu-ray from my good friends at MVD Entertainment. For the first time ever we include both the original black & white plus the new color version--all in sterling hi-def and state-of-the-art sound mix. There's a terrific booklet and loads of bonus features (including an utterly insane introduction by some idiot who looks a lot like me). I'm very proud of this best ever Forbidden Zone release! Officially Elfo-recommended!" Bonus Materials  - Audio commentary with director Richard Elfman and writer-actor Matthew Bright  - "A Look into Forbidden Zone" featuring extensive behind the scenes documentary featuring interviews and archive footage, including scenes from Elfman's lost film "The Hercules Family."  - Outtakes and Deleted Scenes  - Original Theatrical Trailer  - Wild new video intro by Richard Elfman with teaser clip of upcoming Forbidden Zone 2. Pre-Order:  http://bit.ly/1PotsaR Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1E7cTQ1

Traci Lords Is A Punk Rocker

Look! It's Traci Lords

Hey readers guess who stopped by recently? That's correct peeps, friend and favorite on "Entertain Me" Ms. Traci Lords is in the house!

The Ramones fan stopped by to discuss her latest project The Ramones Go To Heaven on FOD, that's Funny or Die for the uninitiated. There are also several other things that she is up to, or that crossed her mind during the course of our one on one that just might surprise you, or perhaps not.

When the two of us get together it's anything but boring...

Shall we get this party started with a big Gabba, Gabba, Hey?! Yep, I thought so, here she is the girl with the most cake, Traci Lords!

TL: Oh my God Honey, I'm sorry I was late.

MS: That's OK sometimes people space out, I know I do. (laughs)

TL: Yeah, I don't know if it's old age, distraction, or what it is (laughs)

MS: So what have you been up to besides your recent video on Funny or Die? 

TL: What have I been up to besides the video? I am in the process of writing my next book. 

MS: Dish. What's it called? What's it going to be about?

TL: Um, I don't have a title yet. I'm not going to tell you anything about it, it will be a surprise. (laughs) I want to keep it under my hat for a moment.

MS: Well that's most likely one of the reasons you are distracted. When you write, time does not exist.

TL: You can appreciate that. Once you sit in that chair, I don't think a lot of people really understand that writing is really a physical act. You have to put your ass in the chair and write.

MS: And you let your brain flow, doesn't it surprise you what pops out on the written page?

TL: Oh yeah, and sometime it surprises me the way I feel about things. I mean, I know that I feel that way about them, but then I read back what I've written and I'm like, wow, that's kind of intense. 

The Ramones Go To Heaven

MS: So my dear how did The Ramones Go To Heaven video for Funny or Die with Dave Foley come about?

TL: Actually it came directly from Funny or Die - and I wondered, because I had Tweeted about Tommy Ramones death a little bit, when I heard that he had passed away it was a moment like: Wow! they are all gone. There was that time I thought it was so strange that they are all not on this earth. It made me think about life. That as you carry on with it, if you are lucky enough to, that you see people go before you, people that you know. I don't know if you have ever lost somebody that you are close to, somebody that you know? It makes you think about your own mortality. 

MS: Oh Yes.

TL: Maybe it's why it's that uh, huh moment. It made me think of the Limelight and how The Ramones were always there. More than anything I think it marked a certain time in my life, and that was a really fun time, but life goes on and things change and now it's completely different. I don't long for the past, but I love the memories. 

MS: I get it, I don't long for my past either, trust me not in a million years, but you do have those memories that are always going to be good. The Ramones were a good memory for a lot of people.

TL: Did you know I sang back-up on their song Somebody To Love? 

MS: No I didn't, was that the cover of the Jefferson Airplane song? 

TL: Yes, that's the one!

MS: What was your first exposure to The Ramones? 

TL: My first exposure to them was probably, oh, the late 70's.  

MS: Was it  Rock N Roll High School ?

TL: It was Rock N Roll High School - I had never heard anything like it before and I was like: What is that?! We have this whole history together, Gary Kurfirst who was their first manager and is no longer on this planet signed me to do my first album 1,000 Fires, I was influenced by the artists he represented like The Ramones &  Debbie Harry and then to go into this world of dance music...

My Name Is Traci, I'll Be Your Mistress Tonight

MS: Your dance music was always edgy it was not typical.

TL: And I can hear it in my first single from the album, Control it was a heavy metal riff that inspired that song. It wasn't fluffy or bubblegum at all.

MS: That's why I gravitated toward your dance album, I like my music edgy.

TL: Oh thank you honey.

MS: By the way, I  think your work in the film Excision was as good as anything I have ever seen nominated for an Oscar.

TL: I appreciate that. I have to tell you I am very proud of that film. In my opinion that is some of the best work I have ever done. That and my stuff on the Profiler was really good. It's such a shame that the stuff that I have done that is really good, nobody's seen. (laughs)

MS: Although I told you this a while ago I was rehearsing a play at the time, I came home and turned on the TV and Profiler was airing. I saw this great actress in a guest starring role and I could not place her, yet she was familiar, you did have a black wig on, then it registered it was you!

TL: You were like, ah ha! (laughs)

MS: Name your favorite Ramones song.

TL: I don't know if I have a favorite.

MS: That's fair.

TL: Although I don't know that I have a favorite Ramones song, but the theme song I had for my time in the 1980's was I Wanna Be Sedated.

MS: I'm partial to Sheena is a Punk Rocker.

TL: I love that one too. I mean who didn't want to be Sheena?!

MS: I know I did! (laughs)

TL: I did too! (laughs) I would have fought you for it! (laughs)

Cry-Baby/Johnny Ramone Tribute Screening
L-R: Joe Dallesandro, Traci Lords, John Waters, Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake

MS: Let me throw a quote at you that I would like some clarity on, when the Cry - Baby reunion/Johnny Ramone Tribute screening came up at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery this quote was attributed to you about the incarcerated actress Amy Locane who was in the film: "Amy Locane, the female lead, was 17 -- she wanted to get out of high school. Now she's in prison." This seems out of character for you, was it taken out of context?

TL: You know it's funny. The way it came across in print I was not happy with,  I truly wasn't trying to be insulting to Amy Locane - what happened with her could have happened with anybody. Thank God that has not been my journey in life. I think where the quote came from is I said everyone on the set was trying to escape from something. She was only seventeen when she did that movie and she did a fantastic job! I was not trying to disrespect her.

MS: I didn't think you were, but I wanted to give you the chance to clarify your intentions for those who might have. 

TL: Oh good, when I read it it made me cringe because I though it made me come off a little bitchy. 

MS: Well since you had a certain stigma attached to you at the time...

TL: Yeah, there is that stigma, I can't believe how much I have pulled off! Hollywood has been an amazing playground for me, I've gotten to do some amazing things. I am amazed and grateful for every opportunity I have had. Wow! What a ride! I'm just now moving into the next phase of my career and my life.  I'm moving into producing & directing. I will have the opportunity to act or not act in my projects, to make music for them or not, it's a whole new world for me and I am excited about being a female filmmaker! The possibilities are absolutely endless, I am happy about that.

MS: So shall we call it Traci, what number are we at? 3.0 I am guessing?

TL: (laughs) I think that's where I am, it might be more.

MS: What is the greatest role you have ever played?

TL: It's not one that's been filmed. I have this amazing child, my favorite role is being a Mom. It's the most juicy, satisfying character I have ever played! 

Go "Punk" with Traci at:
https://www.facebook.com/tracilords
https://twitter.com/thetracilords
http://www.tracilords.com/