If I were to create a list of "GayCalgary Interview All Stars" RuPaul would be one of the top. Somehow he always says something moving and thought provoking, but speaking with him is also a lot of fun. He is an inspiring person, and has influenced a whole new generation of drag queens. 12 of the best queens from the first 4 seasons return for RuPaul’s All Star Drag Race, premiering October 22nd at 9pm et/pt exclusively on OUTtv.
The challenge in casting any TV show is the right combination of people. Such is the case with drag race, RuPaul explained over the phone from Los Angeles.
"In choosing an ensemble we have to find the perfect mixture of kids. It is an interesting chemistry project actually. We are thinking about who we want to spend time with, who the audience wants to spend time with, and who doesn’t clash or cancel each other out. It is the same process when we are looking for the new girls. They’ve got to complement each other and represent the different genres of drag."
The announcement of the cast - Raven, Jujubee, Chad Michaels, Pandora Boxx, Tammie Brown, Yara Sofia, Mimi Imfurst, Nina Flowers, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Shannel and Alexis Mateo – sent the twitterverse and facebook afire. Predictions, complaints, and the repeated question, "why isn’t so-and-so in?!" plastered the internet.
"Hopefully if those people support us we will have many seasons of all stars and get around to getting all the girls in there. The thing is, we need support from people. One of my platforms is to teach young people how to support our gay culture. As elders we have fought long and hard to have these freedoms, but it seems like young people take it for granted. If you want something you have to fucking support it baby."
With that in mind, where’s Willam?!
"He is right here, do you want to talk to him?" Ru asked, laughing. "He’s not actually here. Hopefully we will have Willam next time if we have a next time. We have unleashed maybe 65 girls into ya’lls neighborhoods in the world and these girls are working. What I am most proud of is that these kids have redefined what drag is in the world. I have been at this for 30 motherf**king years, being up on stage and paid for it. To see these kids become household names around the world - we are on in 25 countries - is the thing I am most proud of. Even the kids that are dismissed the first show become famous. They really all win, and I want all of them to win 100,000, I really do but that is just a bonus, they all come out of it as winners."
In addition to the queens, an all-star judging panel will convene, including Billy B., Kelly Osbourne, Ross Matthews and my personal favorite Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.
"...Elvira is back for the All-Stars. Latoya is back. I would love to get Judge Judy, Cher and Diana Ross on as judges but they don’t do this kind of television. It would be great. Cher might get sick of all the impressions, but maybe not. Maybe she is at a point in her life where I did this, be proud of it."
Often times "reality" TV scrapes the bottom of the barrel. One of the appealing things about Drag Race is while it has its share of drama, it hasn’t degenerated to the lowest common denominator.
"Our goal starting out was to bring awareness to the art of drag and how it is important it is, not only to drag but to humans to understand that you are not what it says on your driver’s license. We walk around pretending to be a lawyer, republican, mother of two. There is more to it. This is where it gets a little creepy, but we are actually all god in drag playing dress up. We have a bit of amnesia and drag is there to remind us who we really are and not take all this so seriously. It pokes fun at these images and identities that we adopt. Throughout history the job of the shamans and witch doctors and the court jester was to do that exact thing, and it is an important job."
That isn’t to say the show doesn’t have its creative challenges. Trying to keep the winner from being leaked prior to the broadcast, Ru filmed three endings to the last season. Even the three finalists – Chad Michaels, Phi Phi O’Hara and winner Sharon Needles – didn’t know who had actually been crowned the next drag superstar.
"It is so funny, I don’t know why people would want to spoil it for other people. Actually, I do understand that the ego will do anything it can to single itself out and have something over another person. It is a big part of our culture that we don’t talk about how ego minded we are. We’ve allowed the ego to run everything, when people are texting in the car they think, I can get away with it, I just don’t want anyone else to do it. Actually, you are just like everybody else and you can’t do it. It is frustrating because we do all this work and somebody goes aha! I’ve got it and I’m telling!! It’s like, fuck you, bitch! I was in bed waking up and it occurred to me - shoot three endings! No one would know until the editor at the very end. I thought, oh my god that is fucking awesome! So that is what we did. Sharon found out at a live event in New York when it broadcast on TV, she found out with everyone else."
The screams of frustration on the episode in which a winner should have been announced, but instead was saved for the reunion show, showed how involved viewers had become. Ru certainly likes to toy with us, but this time you won’t have to wait as long. All-stars is a short six episode run.
"We had to pack a lot more into fewer shows. Think of it as concentrated, 6 shows have the cleaning power of 12 shows and you will not be disappointed. Like with any new show the network wants to take it easy. When we started with Drag Race it was just eight shows. It is a television show and people love to get their shaft tickled. That is what we are in the business to do. As annoying as it may seem, people love it, love to talk about it. They went on the computers and went crazy - do you believe what they did?! That is why people tune in, they want different levels of value from the TV and computers and every product we have today."
Staring in October, it seems fitting that RuPaul’s All Star Drag Race debuts just before Halloween, the time of year when straight guys dress up in drag and all sorts of horrors lurk around the corner. RuPaul isn’t a fan of scary movies or Halloween.
"I have always hated Halloween, I had resentment about it. Just one day that you can dress up, that is ok with society? Fuck you I will dress up every day except for that day. I watch Elvira: Mistress of the Dark every Halloween, which isn’t a scary movie just the funniest movie ever made. For me the scariest movie ever, and I reference it all the time, is The Exorcist. It is so real, and the metaphor that there is a demon lurking inside all of us. The truth is, there is a demon lurking in all of us, our ego, the saboteur that can undermine all the great things you can do on this planet. Learning how to navigate around it is quite a task. So the Exorcist... but Poltergeist is pretty scary too."