Kenneth Anger News

I'm a huge Kenneth Anger fan - naturally, any filmmaker whose subjects include gay bikers and teenagers fantasizing about being raped by sailors gets my attention - and I was excited to see his name appear on the New York Post's Page Six today. Apparently Darwin Porter, the author of a "sequel" to Anger's infamous book Hollywood Babylon, is now fearing for his life, as he's received word that Anger has placed "Satanic death curses" on him.

"'It's very bizarre, but a close friend of Kenneth told me he's come out with Satanic incantations against me,' Darwin Porter told Page Six at the Museum of Sex bash for 'Hollywood Babylon: It's Back!' co-written with Danforth Prince.

'I have to protect myself. He was a friend of Aleister Crowley, the Satan worshipper who drank the blood of virgins,' Porter said.

Anger - who made gay- and occult-themed avant-garde flicks like 'Fireworks' (1947) and 'Scorpio Rising' (1963), and collaborated with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Charles Manson pal and convicted killer Bobby Beausoleil - is recognized as the godfather of the modern scandal book.

'Hollywood Babylon' was an instant best-seller with its seamy tales and explicit photos of movie stars' secret gay flings, sex orgies, murder and suicide. In the 1980s, Anger wrote 'Hollywood Babylon II,' which had a hog-fat Elizabeth Taylor on the cover."

I was sad to read in the article that Anger has been suffering from prostate cancer and has predicted that he will die this coming Halloween. He's an incredibly important filmmaker and gay artist who has not gotten as much credit as he deserves. I'm putting two of his most important films up here. They'll probably get taken offline pretty soon. Here's one of his first films, "Fireworks," from 1947:



And this is probably his most influential film; "Scorpio Rising," from 1964:



Scandal Scribe Fears a Curse - New York Post