Director Gregg Araki on his unrated cut of ‘Nowhere,’ aging gays, & why Gen Z needs more sex
Totally F***ed Up, 1995’s The Doom Generation, and 1997’s Nowhere, brimmed with an outrageous, queer punk attitude, youthful vigor, sex, all-over-the-map sexuality and identities, HIV, spasms of violence, and f*cking amazing music (albeit no cell phones).
Now, Nowhere—which was never released on digital home entertainment platforms or streaming—has been restored and recut to include scenes the uptight ratings board deemed too offensive at the time, in full 2023 technological splendor.Kicking off a theatrical run at LA’s Academy Museum during the same week John Waters’ exhibition opened, Nowhere is set in a colorful, alternate Los Angeles (described by Variety as “Beverly Hills 90210 fast-forwarded and on acid”) where Araki-verse regular James Duvall, Ryan Philippe, Mena Suvari, out actor Guillermo Diaz, Heather Graham, Scott Caan, Debi Mazar and a host of other familiar faces grapple with what may be the end of the world, alien abductions, and sexual anarchy.
The entire Teen Apocalypse Trilogy will play select engagements as well.To discuss bringing Nowhere back from the brink, whether his 2019 Starz series Now Apocalypse will ever see a second season (it was actually greenlit and written!), and if the now 64-year-old will ever shift gears from youth-centric works (like Kaboom, Splendor, Mysterious Skin, and This Is How The World Ends) to make a movie about gay “olds,” Araki sat down for a Zoom with Queerty.QUEERTY: I understand that this “Teen Apocalypse Trilogy” restoration and release happened because all the studio rights finally reverted back to you.
True?GREGG ARAKI: Yeah, and also Nowhere was never released on DVD in the US. Just VHS and Laserdisc!
