'Pope of Trash' ready to talk

He's happy to be called "The King of Bad Taste," but John Waters really prefers "The Pope of Trash," the sobriquet suggested by the late William Burroughs. "Doesn't get better than that," the director said of such cult classics as "Pink Flamingos" and "Desperate Living." Tuesday, Waters brings his shtick to Boston University, where he'll perform his solo, spoken-word show, "This Filthy World." A longtime summer resident of P'town, Waters told us he's humored by the state's gay-wedding debate. "I thought the privilege of being gay was that you didn't have to get married or join the Army," said Waters, who coincidentally plays a character called the Groom Reaper on the new Court TV show " 'Til Death Do Us Part." "I'm going to invest in gay divorce and tattoo-removal because those are going to be the growth industries." Waters said he's always puzzled when people refer to him as an outsider. "I'm so sick of that word," he said. "You can watch 'Pink Flamingos' -- uncut -- on cable TV now. I'm the ultimate insider -- I can buy any book I want, and I don't have to hang around jerks anymore." Tuesday's event is sponsored by BU's NEH Distinguished Teaching Professorship.

Brown, Houston set to untie the knot

Bobby Brown's marriage to Whitney Houston lasted longer than anyone would have predicted, but it's finally over. Or almost. A judge in LA has declared that after 14 years of marriage, the couple will officially divorce April 24. Orange County Superior Court Judge Franz Miller also this week granted custody of Bobbi Kristina, the couple's 14-year-old daughter, to Houston. Brown, whose remarkable rags-to-riches-to-rags-again story started in Roxbury, did not attend the hearing. Houston did, and told the judge she needs neither spousal nor child support, and can no longer depend on Brown. "He's unreliable," the singer told the judge. "If he says he's going to come, sometimes he does. Usually he doesn't." Houston filed for divorce last fall, and the couple has been separated since. It's not clear what effect, if any, the divorce will have on Brown's ability to financially support the two children, LaPrincia and Bobby Jr., he had with ex-girlfriend Kim Ward.

Bundchen rocks, but only in Spain

Tom Brady's ubiquitous supermodel sweetheart Gisele Bundchen looks good holding a guitar on the cover of the April issue of Rolling Stone. But don't bother looking for her on your newsstand -- the edition's only available in Spain. "Grindhouse" girls Rose McGowan and Rosario Dawson grace the cover of the US edition.

Aaron Ryder, producer of "Donnie Darko" and "Memento," brought his latest film to Boston, screening "The TV Set" for students at his alma mater, Emerson. While in town, Ryder caught up with Peter Chvany, his teacher, mentor , and soccer coach at Emerson. Starring David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, "The TV Set" is at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month. . . . No wonder "Blades of Glory" is doing so well at the box office. Amy Poehler told Ellen DeGeneres yesterday that her parents bought dozens of tickets at the AMC Cinema at the Burlington Mall to watch the figure-skating flick with the whole Poehler family.

A hangar at Cape Air's Hyannis headquarters was turned into a movie soundstage yesterday so "Chatham" director Daniel Adams could film a pseudo sea rescue. About 70 crew members spent seven hours setting up the scene. (Adams et al. had shot a corresponding scene on the water near the Coast Guard station at Provincetown's Race Point Lighthouse.) Wednesday, the cast of "Chatham," including David Carradine, Rip Torn , and Bruce Dern, helped co star Christy Scott Cashman celebrate the birthday of her husband, construction magnate Jay Cashman. Also attending the get-together at the Impudent Oyster in Chatham was Jay's friend, Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich.

Peter Gallagher was at Tufts yesterday to receive the Light on the Hill award, given annually to a distinguished alum. The bushy-eyebrowed actor and star of "The O.C." graduated from Tufts in '77 with a degree in economics. Gallagher performed with the Beelzebubs, an a capella group of which he is an alumnus. . . . Autistic teen Jason McElwain, who's famous for sinking six 3-pointers in a high school basketball game in Rochester, N.Y., was in Boston yesterday to receive an award from Doug Flutie and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

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