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12/10/06
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erin_broadley

erin_broadley

NEWSWIRE

Los Angeles, CA

DEC 07, 2006 01:20 PM





Crispin Glover's reputation precedes him. He is the endearing George McFly of Back to the Future who infamously delivered a high-kick to David Letterman's head during a taping of Late Night With... in 1987, only missing the talk show host's gap-toothed sneer by inches. He is the fanatical auteur who shocked the film industry when he took vengeance on Steven Spielberg in Adam Parfrey's Apocalypse Culture II. He is the young prodigy who wrote his first novel Billow Rock by the time he turned 18 and runs his own publishing house, Volcanic Eruptions. Glover instills shock and disgust in some, but in others he summons a mysterious admiration fueled by work that consistently asks more questions than it offers answers.



Certainly, Glover's an artist_an eccentric one at that. He's a renaissance man of sorts whose work teases the breaking points of fear and ego with the insatiable curiosity of a boy playing doctor for the first time with the girl next door. The film What Is It?, Glover's offbeat directorial debut, is the latest of his creations and promises to raise more than a few eyebrows. Featuring a cast comprised mostly of actors with Down's Syndrome, Glover describes the 72-minute film as, "The adventures of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe and how to get home, and is tormented by a hubristic, racist inner psyche."



According to writer Kelly O of The Seattle Stranger Weekly,



"[What Is It?] is ABSOLUTELY the most uncompromising and original thing I've seen. People try to compare it to the likes of surrealist hero Luis Bunuel and trailblazer Werner Herzog, but I say Glover has transcended even them."





The film's textured imagery ranges from porn stars donning animal heads as masks to a Shirley Temple-esque actress clothed in a Nazi uniform_all set to a score that includes songs by Charles Manson. Surreal indeed.





"Realism is always subjective in film," Glover told the NY Press in 2002. "There's no such thing as cinema verite. The only true cinema verite would be what Andy Warhol did with his film about the Empire State Building_eight hours or so from one angle, and even then it's not really cinema verite, because you aren't actually there. As soon as anybody puts anything on film, it automatically has a point of view, and it's somebody else's point of view, and it's impossible for it to be yours."





What Is It? is the first in a trilogy Glover has been working on for over a decade and is screening as part of his touring avant-garde, one-man show titled "Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show," which also includes spoken word performances from his books and albums. I suggest getting tickets to the show when it passes through your town because Glover has stressed that he does not plan on putting the film out on DVD.



Check it out this weekend, Dec. 8-10, in Los Angeles as part of the Egyptian Theater's American Cinematheque:



The Egyptian Theater

6712 Hollywood Blvd.

LA, Ca



For tickets call: 323-466-3456.

AndersWolleck

AndersWolleck

Astoria, NY
February 2003
Roethke

Roethke

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

DEC 07, 2006 04:15 PM

It should be stressed that the Shirley Temple-esque actress clothed in a Nazi uniform is also diddling herself with a riding crop in front of a giant swastika.

Oh, Crispin, how I adore you.

Altoid

Altoid

Tuscaloosa, AL
November 2003

DEC 07, 2006 04:18 PM

Crispin is my all-time favorite! smile By the way, I think it was Late Night with David Letterman and not The Tonight Show.

erin_broadley

erin_broadley

NEWSWIRE

Los Angeles, CA

DEC 07, 2006 04:25 PM

Altoid, thanks for the heads up! complete brain lapse on my part but i fixed it smile

Zoetica

Zoetica

NEWSWIRE

Los Angeles, CA

DEC 07, 2006 04:47 PM

eehee!
i saw this..creation and Crispin's presentation some time ago in Toronto. He's a maniac. Maniac.

SO yes. it is not a debut by any means, but it is definitely worth a look.

Shalome

Shalome

MODERATOR

Los Angeles, CA

DEC 07, 2006 04:49 PM

I saw the preview for this movie last time we went to the Egyptian.

It looks... I dunno, not like something I'd enjoy seeing. I mean, the preview was funny in a "ha ha, this looks like it's making fun of bad surrealist student films! Weird for weird's sake!" way, but I don't think I'd enjoy seeing it as a full movie.

clyde76

clyde76

Austin, TX
May 2003

DEC 07, 2006 04:55 PM

I love Crispin too, but this is absolutely not new work, this is not a debut, it's very good and in my opinion I wish more people were pushing where he is pushing, but I saw him tour with this 2 years ago, no sequel, no DVD, it's a really hard film not to own because if anything it inspires conversation and it would be nice to relive it in the moment, and of course, forgive me for noticing, not being able to watch it over and over robs us of critical disection, which is crucial for the mantle he is attempting to inherit. Crispin has the same problem I do, he talks too much.

girl_afraid

girl_afraid

Milwaukee, WI
November 2004

DEC 07, 2006 04:58 PM

that's my man. i saw the film and slide show last spring, and needless to say it was amazing. truly.

Chopperdave

Chopperdave

Long Beach, CA
January 2004

DEC 07, 2006 07:34 PM

Roethke said:
It should be stressed that the Shirley Temple-esque actress clothed in a Nazi uniform is also diddling herself with a riding crop in front of a giant swastika.

Oh, Crispin, how I adore you.



Somehow, your description of you liking it is better than the pic itself...

abracadabra

abracadabra

Seattle, WA
April 2004

DEC 07, 2006 11:43 PM

Crispin Hellion is pure genius.."It" is the shit

Kes

Kes

USA
August 2006

DEC 08, 2006 12:45 AM

Crispin is the shite. I love the way he blends mysticism, vaudville, and pure insanity into one package. What a total original.

Nothingful

Nothingful

San Diego, CA
October 2004

DEC 08, 2006 01:56 AM

He is something else.
And he is hillarious.
Or ... is it Mr. Far?

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

DEC 08, 2006 02:00 AM

Shalome said:
I saw the preview for this movie last time we went to the Egyptian.

It looks... I dunno, not like something I'd enjoy seeing. I mean, the preview was funny in a "ha ha, this looks like it's making fun of bad surrealist student films! Weird for weird's sake!" way, but I don't think I'd enjoy seeing it as a full movie.



Hah! That sounds exactly the way I thought it would shocked

HWallbanger

HWallbanger

Philadelphia, PA
March 2005

DEC 08, 2006 06:27 AM

He's the kind of actor that I could watch for hours. Even if he wasn't doing anything in particular, it'd still be captivating.

goatboy23

goatboy23

Vatican City
November 2003

DEC 08, 2006 08:27 AM

I saw his presentation when this was still a work in progress, and it was a total trip then. I imagine it is inspired lunacy in its final form. This man is a national treasure.

Roethke

Roethke

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

DEC 08, 2006 10:53 AM

clyde76 said:
I love Crispin too, but this is absolutely not new work, this is not a debut, it's very good and in my opinion I wish more people were pushing where he is pushing, but I saw him tour with this 2 years ago, no sequel, no DVD, it's a really hard film not to own because if anything it inspires conversation and it would be nice to relive it in the moment, and of course, forgive me for noticing, not being able to watch it over and over robs us of critical disection, which is crucial for the mantle he is attempting to inherit. Crispin has the same problem I do, he talks too much.



Yeah, it definitely isn't new. I saw it, what? Two years ago? At least that, anyway.

Doesn't "It is Fine." come out in January at Sundance?

clyde76

clyde76

Austin, TX
May 2003

DEC 09, 2006 02:40 PM

Roethke said:

clyde76 said:
I love Crispin too, but this is absolutely not new work, this is not a debut, it's very good and in my opinion I wish more people were pushing where he is pushing, but I saw him tour with this 2 years ago, no sequel, no DVD, it's a really hard film not to own because if anything it inspires conversation and it would be nice to relive it in the moment, and of course, forgive me for noticing, not being able to watch it over and over robs us of critical disection, which is crucial for the mantle he is attempting to inherit. Crispin has the same problem I do, he talks too much.



Yeah, it definitely isn't new. I saw it, what? Two years ago? At least that, anyway.

Doesn't "It is Fine." come out in January at Sundance?



"It Is Fine" will be his second debut.

Roethke

Roethke

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

DEC 09, 2006 04:46 PM

clyde76 said:

Roethke said:

clyde76 said:
I love Crispin too, but this is absolutely not new work, this is not a debut, it's very good and in my opinion I wish more people were pushing where he is pushing, but I saw him tour with this 2 years ago, no sequel, no DVD, it's a really hard film not to own because if anything it inspires conversation and it would be nice to relive it in the moment, and of course, forgive me for noticing, not being able to watch it over and over robs us of critical disection, which is crucial for the mantle he is attempting to inherit. Crispin has the same problem I do, he talks too much.



Yeah, it definitely isn't new. I saw it, what? Two years ago? At least that, anyway.

Doesn't "It is Fine." come out in January at Sundance?



"It Is Fine" will be his second debut.



Yeah, I think that's what I just said. It's followed by "It is Mine!"

Tornateaux

Tornateaux

Fort Campbell, KY
August 2006

DEC 09, 2006 05:21 PM

Chopperdave said:

Roethke said:
It should be stressed that the Shirley Temple-esque actress clothed in a Nazi uniform is also diddling herself with a riding crop in front of a giant swastika.

Oh, Crispin, how I adore you.



Somehow, your description of you liking it is better than the pic itself...



/signed

Vivid

Vivid

SUICIDEGIRL

Michigan, USA

DEC 10, 2006 01:17 PM

I fantasized of Willard.
Oh, how I love that strange strange man.