Month: January 2005

[via Movie City News Indie]:

Crispin Hellion Glover, who’s best known for playing George McFly in the Back

to the Future films, has spent the last two decades getting weirder. My housemate,

“Brother Pete” Onlock, the weirdo in our six-man house in my second and

thrid years at Crazy Go Nuts University, considered Glover to be a sort

of personal hero, especially after that meltdown he had on Late

Night With David Letterman.

In the late 1980’s, Glover published his home phone number in a number

of offbeat publications, promising callers some interesting taped

messages. In 1989, having a morbid curiosity and the phone number from

Keyboard World magazine, I called the number and was treated a rant

about rats that was both creepy and hilarious.

There have been rumours about a magnum opus film project on which he’s

been working for years. It looks like we’ll finally get our chance to

see it: the film, titled What Is It? will be premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 29 and 30.

According to Movie City News’ Indie section: “Most of the actors in the

film have Down’s Syndrome, but the

film is not about Down’s Syndrome. Mr. Glover explains the plot thus:

‘Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are

snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, as tormented by an hubristic

racist inner psyche.'”

Oh, my.

Here’s the poster for What Is It?

Oh, my again.

That’s nothing, however. For the full “Oh, my!” experience, you’re going to have to watch the trailer [NOT SAFE FOR WORK:

some nudity, and completely whacked out]. It reminds me of Pavlov Video Chicken I, the piece reviewed in the “Bad Conceptual Art”

skit from the 1978 Saturday Night Live.

I am eagerly awaiting the DVD release so I can host a “Bad Art Night” party.

As an added bonus, here’s the video of Crispin Glover’s infamous appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.

[6.5 MB AVI file, enclosure]. I remember watching this when it was

broadcast and wondering “Is he acting, or is he really flipping out?”