a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Peaches Christ to direct new movie about making of a cult S.F. drag film
The making of a cult San Francisco drag movie is about to be the focus of a film of its own.
San Francisco filmmaker Joshua Grannell plans to direct the adaptation of Craig Seligman's 2023 biography of drag performer Doris Fish, 'Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? ,' focusing specifically on the making of the 1991 film 'Vegas in Space.'
'Vegas in Space' stars Doris Fish — along with fellow San Francisco drag performers Miss X, Ginger Quest and Timmy Spence — in a story about male astronauts who must change their gender via pills to enter the all-female planet of Clitoris.
The script for the forthcoming project will be written by Grannell, also known as drag performer Peaches Christ, and Michael Varrati, a screenwriter and Grannell's cohost on the 'Midnight Mass' podcast.
'I want to do for Doris Fish what Tim Burton did for Ed Wood,' Grannell told the Chronicle, referring to Burton's 1994 biopic on the low-budget horror master that reintroduced Wood to a new generation of fans. 'It's a great San Francisco story of drag, filmmaking, drugs and chosen family.'
Grannell said he's wanted to make a film about Doris Fish since screening 'Vegas in Space' at a 'Midnight Mass' event at the Clay Theater in 2006 that also featured Grannell interviewing costars Ginger Quest, Ramona Fischer and director Phillip R. Ford. The stories they shared about the film's origin as a drag theme party, the years-long delays in the San Francisco production and how Doris Fish funded the movie through prostitution immediately inspired him.
'I turned to Phillip at one point and said there should be a movie about the making of 'Vegas in Space,' and he kind of raised an eyebrow and said, 'Yeah, there should be. Maybe you should be the one to do it,'' Peaches Christ recalled.
'Vegas in Space' was filmed at Doris Fish's apartment at 422 Oak St. over the course of 18 months. But it took eight years for Ford and Doris Fish, who also co-wrote the film and helped design the production, to raise the money to complete the project.
The movie went on to have a cult following on video and late night television.
Doris Fish was born Philip Mills in Sydney, Australia, in 1952, and found his way to drag through the glitter and androgyny of late 1960s and '70s music and fashion. (While he was known by most as Doris Fish, he identified as a cisgender male and used male pronouns.)
As a teenager, he formed the Sydney drag group Sylvia and the Synthetics. He eventually moved to San Francisco where he found a drag community with performers such as Tippi and Miss X, with whom he formed the Sluts A-Go-Go.
Doris Fish and the Sluts A-Go-Go are seen as among the most significant drag artists of the 1980s San Francisco, akin to the Cockettes of the 1970s or the Trannyshack scene of the 1990s. 'Vegas in Space' remains Doris Fish and the Sluts' greatest legacy.
'Throughout the history of San Francisco there are people who really changed the game, and Doris was that person for San Francisco drag in the '80s,' said Grannell, director of the 2010 horror film 'All About Evil' starring Natasha Lyonne. 'One of the things that she wanted to do was make movies. Movies were forever, stage shows could be fleeting. If they wanted to preserve what they were doing with drag you had to do it in a movie.'
Doris Fish battled AIDS as 'Vegas in Space' was in post-production and died in June 1991 at age 38. The film premiered that October at the Castro Theatre, just a few months after co-star Tippi also died from AIDS.
The film was released by Troma Entertainment, and former Troma executive Marty Sokol is on board as a producer on Grannell's forthcoming film. Given Sokol's role in acquiring 'Vegas in Space' for the company in 1991, Grannell said his involvement feels especially meaningful.
'From the moment I first saw 'Vegas in Space' when it aired on 'USA Up All Night' in the early-90s, I was enchanted,' said Varrati, referring to the weekly late night movie program that aired on the USA cable network. 'Before I even understood the significance of the film's upfront and unapologetic queerness, I was enamored by its indie spirit.'
Seligman's book led to a revival of attention on Doris Fish, which has since included the launch of the website as the official store and archive for Doris Fish and the Sluts-A-Go-Go. A documentary directed by Scott Braucht is also currently in production.
'The resurgence has been quite exciting,' said Miss X, who also co-wrote the screenplay for 'Vegas in Space.' 'To see the legs this thing has had — our silly little movie has a lot going for it.'
Grannell said the renewed interest in Fish added urgency to finalizing his own project. He hopes to film in San Francisco and acknowledged that casting a member of the queer community as Doris Fish is important. The film will also employ a number of drag artists to play supporting roles, he said.
'Peaches and I often discussed our desire to bring the true-life story of these dynamic individuals to a larger audience, and now we have the opportunity. It's a dream come true,' said Varrati, who is slated to host a special screening of 'Vegas in Space' at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on July 11.
'To us, this is about more than the making of a cult classic, but a deeply impactful story about the power of queer persistence.'
