Groupie
| Groupie | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| Video by Marilyn Manson | ||
| Recorded | Unconfirmed night between 1996 an 1998 | |
| Genre | Psychological thriller | |
| Director | Marilyn Manson | |
Groupie is an independent film shot by Marilyn Manson shot during the of 1996 through 1998. While Groupie was intended to be release on home video, the project was shelved by Manson at the insistence of manager Tony Ciulla who deemed its content so disturbing it would end Manson career and result in his conviction. It is the earliest known example of Marilyn Manson's foray into film making.
Plot
While complete details have yet to be revealed, what is known of the plot is as follows:
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.
Soon enough the titular guest, who is said to appear very young, arrives and bestows Manson with a piece of art as a gift. Manson then invites her in and convinces her to engage in various degrading acts such as convincing her to drink Madonna Wayne Gacy's urine.
The girl continues to be put through increasingly horrible situations as time goes on. At one point a gun in introduced, a fight breaks out and someone (presumably the girl) bleeds. In one scene, the girl is seen sitting in a chair crying and screaming as Manson is heard, off-camera, taunting her. Manson then forces her to recite the phrase "Jesus loves me because the bible tells me so".
The film ends with the girl tied up and crying.
Production
Details about the Groupie project are vague, however Manson and Andy Dick discussed 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.
Groupie was filmed one night between 1996 and 1998, at an actual party held by Manson at his home. Known attendants include Marilyn Manson members Twiggy and Madonna Wayne Gacy. The night's events were filmed with a portable camera leading Manson to compare its approach to The Blair Witch Project. Early in the evening, Manson announced that a girl would be arriving and that they would be filming her and foreshadowed that "something's probably gonna go wrong." Many guests were apparently unsure if the events happening before them were real or all part of an act. 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 in the night's events.
Manson intended to make Groupie available through home video however, upon reviewing the footage, manager Tony Ciulla advised him to "hide the masters" and warned that "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.
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.
Quotes from Dinner for Five
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
somethings 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 know 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 cuz 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.
