Words can not do justice to this trailer for Crispin Glover's new film (WARNING: contains nudity):

http://www.crispinglover.com/WhatIsIt.html

Wow, this looks very interesting indeed. I had no idea that Crispin Glover had this in him. It looks like it might stray in to the 'too self conciously weird for it's own good' territory if anything. But other than that it looks like being pretty unmissable as far as I am concerned.

Very interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole thing

SPOILERS?!?

Wow. This is finished, eh? I caught a screening of a rough cut of the film (the sound was in a rough mix stage, and the editing hadn't been fine-tuned yet) about 7-8 years ago in Seattle, and my initial judgment of the film was that there was no way that it could legally see release without some pruning. Unless, of course, there are no legal ramifications in showing a photo of Shirley Temple manipulated so that it appears that she's wearing an SS uniform, or in showing Adam Parfrey wearing blackface and stating to the camera "I'm Michael Jackson. I like little boys. Would you like to take a ride in my limousine?" Other than that, though, how you react to it is going to seriously depend on how you react to Crispin Hellion Glover himself. To prep yourself for it, I'd recommend listening to his album THE BIG PROBLEM DOES NOT EQUAL THE SOLUTION. THE SOLUTION EQUALS LET IT BE. The trailer, though, is pretty representative of how the film looks. And if you have any inkling that it might be too self-consciously "weird for weird's sake" from viewing the trailer, this might not be the movie for you.

At the screening, after viewing the film, the entire audience sat there with their collective jaw in their collective lap. Nobody knew how to react, and nobody really wanted to be seen as the first person to lead the applause. And this was an audience of people who were familiar with and appreciative of Crispin Hellion Glover's works. I found it fascinating (though deliberately offensive), and I'm looking very forward to seeing this again -- but I can't give it any kind of blanket recommendation to people I haven't known for at least a few years. That's too much responsibility. Watch at your own risk.

And the spirit of Kenneth Anger lives on! Not that he's dead.

I tried to check this out this morning. Unfortunately, the film preview is temporarily unavailable.

Well, I was thinking that it might be too weird for weirds sake for some people. For me the weider the better I think. If you saw a rough cut 7-8 years ago then how long has this thing been in production?

This has been in production for what seems like *forever*. I met Crispin Glover around 9 - 10 years ago (doing his "Big Slide Show" and showing his early Trent Harris short film THE ORKLY KID) and had asked him if he'd ever record a follow-up to his THE BIG PROBLEM... LP. He said that he was actually working on some music, and that it would probably surface after the release of "this movie I've been shooting in my house and my backyard...it stars a group of people with Down's Syndrome." So he's been working on it for at least a decade now. And it's part of a trilogy, to be followed by IT IS MINE., and climaxing (no pun intended) with SEXCAPADES. Or vice versa. I've heard IT IS MINE. mentioned as the final film in the trilogy.

On a side note, I'll never forget Crispin Glover's appearance on the David Letterman show back in about 1987. Glover came out dressed in 1970's garb, Long wig, platform shoes and all, acting very strangely. He went off on a rant about knowing how to arm wrestle then stood up and fired a kick that came within inches of a stunned Letterman's face.

Immediately the show cut to a commercial. When the show came back on, Glover was nowhere in sight.

I don't remember reading much about it. I just remember how weird Glover acted. He seemed totally disoriented and confused. Quite sad. I remember hearing rumors that he had taken LSD prior to coming on the show.

I don't know how true that is, but it has to be one of the most bizarre scenes I've ever witnessed on Letterman.

Crispin Glover's first Letterman appearance was during production on RUBIN & ED, the film he made with Howard Hesseman and the director of the Beaver Trilogy. Basically, Crispin was in character as Rubin during the interview, trying to do an Andy Kaufman style jape, but since no one else was in on the joke, he was sent home after the break. Crispin did write an apology, and months later Letterman had him back.

Conversely, before this disastrous appearance, Crispin appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and behaved completely different. He was still oddly attired, but very smiling and energetic, and Johnny was so fascinated by his descriptions of his collection of oddities and his hobby of "rewriting" old books that he had him on again less than a week later. Johnny really seemed to take a shine to him. Which made his bad first run with Letterman all the more shocking to me as a fan.

RUBIN AND ED fans in the NYC area might enjoy seeing it with Crispin Glover in person on 2/23 this month at the Walter Reade Theater. More info on the 7pm screening here.

At 2pm that afternoon they're having a screening of MANDINGO, in case you need a double dose of weirdness in one day.