Who inspires John Waters?

The idea of who inspires John Waters, cult film director, is an intriguing one. Role Models is an eclectic array of people from Johnny Mathis to Lady Zorro, a masked lesbian stripper from Baltimore. Waters has done a good job with some of the people, but I felt some like Mathis needed more focus. Two of my favourites were his exploration of his friendship with Leslie Van Houten, who was a Manson follower and now is in prison and his conversation with Zorro's daughter about her mother and her life growing up that environment. I found his conflicted feelings about Van Houten interesting. He likes her as a person and was living a life under the influence at the same time, which he feels have some similarities. Yet as he feels she should be released, he empathizes with the family of her victims.

Please note that this is a book by John Waters and has materials that some may find offensive.