Revision as of 20:03, 18 September 2010

Groupie
Video by Marilyn Manson
Recorded	Unconfirmed night between 1996 an 1998
Genre	Psychological thriller
Director	Marilyn Manson

Groupie is the earliest known example of Marilyn Manson's foray into filmmaking. An independent film shot by camcorder one night during the of 1996 through 1998, Groupie was shelved by Manson at the insistence of manager Tony Ciulla, who deemed its content so disturbing it would end Manson's music career and result in his conviction.

Plot

Groupie centers around an actual party held at Marilyn Manson's home. Manson informs his guests that a girl will be attending who they will be videotaping. Before this girl's arrival, Manson is allegedly shown fellating Twiggy. When the titular guest arrives, she bestows Manson with a piece of art and is invited inside. From here, she is ushered into various acts which include sharing a glass of urine with Stephen Bier, who "poured" the glass himself, and being tied and taunted by Manson, the latter scene taking place towards the end of the film.

Production

Details about the Groupie project are vague, however Manson and Andy Dick had a relatively tight-lipped discussion about the film on the television program Dinner for Five in 2002. Prior to this Manson had simply alluded to filming a video so shocking it could never be made public, however during this particular interview Manson and Dick shared some insight into the severity of its content.

During one night between 1996 and 1998, Manson held a party at his home. Known attendants include Marilyn Manson members Twiggy and Stephen Bier, then performing as Madonna Wayne Gacy. Early in the evening, Manson announced that a girl would be arriving and that they would be filming her, in spite of his sentiment that "something's probably gonna go wrong." Upon her arrival, the girl presents Manson with an art gift, after which Manson began to have her take part in increasingly perverse acts, including drinking Bier's urine from a wine glass. While other acts are scarcely detailed, they are known to include a gun, bloodshed and the girl being tied and restrained while crying. This activity is documented on a portable camera, leading Manson to compare its approach to The Blair Witch Project, and has said of the evening that "It gets really scary because not everyone in the room knew if it was a joke or not."

Manson intended to make Groupie available through home video, however upon reviewing the footage, manager Tony Ciulla advised him to "Please hide the masters. If anyone sees this you'll go to jail and your career will be over." Despite this, a snippet of footage from Groupie was inserted into the final moments of Marilyn Manson's 1998 video album Dead to the World, showing an obscured view of the girl sitting in a chair crying and screaming as Manson taunts her offscreen, forcing her to recite the phrase "Jesus loves me because the Bible tells me so".

The exact circumstancs of the film are unclear. Manson notes his party guests were made uncomfortable by the activity, as they were uncertain if it had genuinely escalated in perversion or if had been planned in advance. During Manson and Dick's discussion about Groupie, Manson seems to assert that while his party was authentic, the girl he invited "was portraying a youngster," implying that some degree of acting was involved and that she wasn't being entirely manipulated.

Reception

Only three people are confirmed to have viewed Groupie, Marilyn Manson, Tony Ciulla and Andy Dick. Ciulla's stance on the film is unknown, however he allegedly urged Manson to keep anyone from watching it out of fear that it would be used to convict him. Dick has said of the footage that the participants were having fun despite the subject matter, but he did not deny being disturbed.

Dinner for Five discussion

Manson: I made this movie that I had intentions to put on my home video not thinking that it  
        would offend. It was at a [real] party at my house. I said "A girl is gonna show up and 
        something's probably gonna go wrong, so just roll with it."
Dick:   [Manson] sucked Twiggy's cock, but he put a rubber on it.
Manson: It was flaccid.
Dick:   So they're having fun, sucking each other's cocks and ding dong, who's at the door? It's 
        a fan. She says "I just knew that you lived here, and I made this piece of art for you.  
        Will you take it?" and [Manson is] like "Sure, why don't you come in?" She must have been 
        18, literally.
Manson: Less. More. Well, she was portraying a youngster. You're making this seem like a 
        pornographic film.
Dick:   No, it wasn't. People were having fun, it was a party. It honestly looked like someone  
        left the camera on 'cause at times it looked like you just set it there.
Dick:   This girl shows up and he lures her in and she's excited to be there. She's like "I'm  
        such a big fan, I'm really excited, then slowly, over time, he starts to get her to do 
        certain things and those are the things that maybe we shouldn't discuss.
Manson: It gets really scary because not everyone in the room knew if it was a joke or not.
Dick:   He tries to get her to drink Pogo's urine. He pees in the wine glass and she's like "You 
        do it," and he drinks it, and then she finally does. 
Manson: Then I introduce a gun into the situation and it becomes really scary.
Dick:   I was disturbed. People started bleeding at some point and not good things are happening.
Manson: A fight breaks out.
Dick:   That girl is tied up at the end and crying.
Manson: When I showed it to my manager he said "Please hide the masters. If anyone sees this 
        you'll go to jail and your career will be over. It was called Groupie.