If you`ve been stalking my Twitter, you`ll know that Crispin Hellion Glover has been emailing me. You may know him best as an eccentric character actor, with gloriously dark turns in Willard, Alice in Wonderland (Knave of Hearts), and Insure to the Future.
But Crispin Glover is a multi-platformed ringmaster - writer, film-maker, musician - who places his camera lens in the squirmiest of territories.
The first film in his trilogy, "What Is It?" is described as "The adventures of a new man whose principle interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home." In his new "It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE," the principal actor and screenwriter is Steven C. Stewart, a man with a good character of cerebral palsy. Crispin is currently bringing his vaudeville act to Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, England - where he oversees screenings, readings, a big slide show and book signings that track until dawn.
Longtime friend and Andy Warhol/Home Alone reincarnate Rob Rafuse stirred up the following questions for Crispin. Read on for his fascinating answers about building a Czech soundstage, working with David Lynch, and dancing like a lunatic in Friday the 13th.
† When you are finished with the "What Is It" trilogy, do you plan on releasing it to DVD? If so, are you going to go with a distributor or are you going to do it independently, like with touring the films?
There have been smaller distribution companies interested in distributing the films. I get more wherewithal than they would, I am theatrically distributing these films that in this sentence is a more unusual fashion, but 100 years ago it would be the medium and it would be called "Vaudeville". For various reasons it makes the near feel to distribute these films in this fashion. I am protective of the study of the show for financial reasons and because there is sensitive material in both the films and I have discovered that the forum that I make after the figure is shown is highly important, and the audience interaction with this Q and A session is actually quite imperative for these films.
† Can you provide us an estimate of what the final film in the trilogy is going to be about? What are your plans afterwards - will you get more films?
I should not go in to detail for "IT IS MINE." yet and I will not admit that next. There are other projects outside of the trilogy that I will return next. I own post in the Czech Republic and am making a small soundstage out there to continue making my own films. It is another culture and another language and I wish to draw up to complex productions like "What is it?" and the existing sequel "It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE." IT IS MINE. Is an even more complex undertaking than those two films were so it will be a trance yet for that production.
I have been working on three screenworks to play within the contraints of shooting on sets at my property.One of them is a screenplay for myself and my father to act in together. He is also an actor and that is the next film I would want to engage as a director/producer. This will be the foremost use I write for myself to act in that will be written as an acting function as opposed to a role that was written for the cause I go to just do the structure. But yet even on some degree I am writing the screenplay to be something that I can afford to make. There are two other projects I could go ahead that depending on set costs. I am currently working on two screenplays that may be more affordable to get first.
† You do a lot of independent personal films but as of late you`ve been diving into horror with films like Willard, Simon Says and Champion of Gore. What attracts you to this genre/aesthetic?
I am very careful to get it quite clear that What is it? is not a film about Down`s Syndrome but my psychological reaction to the corporate restraints that have happened in the final 20 to 30 days in film making. Specifically anything that can possibly sustain an audience uncomfortable is necessarily excised or the project will not be corporately funded or distributed. This is detrimental to the culture because it is the very instant when an audience member sits back in their chair looks up at the dim and thinks to their ego "Is this right what I am watching? Is this wrong what I am watching? Should I be here? Should the filmmaker have made this? What is it?" -and that is the title of the film. What is it that is forbidden in the culture? What does it mean that taboo has been ubiquitously excised in this culture`s media? What does it mean to the culture when it does not properly process taboo in it`s media? It is a bad thing because when questions are not being asked because these kinds of questions are when people are having a truly educational experience. For the last to not be capable to ask questions leads towards a non educational experience and that is what is happening in this culture. This stupefies this civilization and that is of course a bad thing. So What is it? Is a direct reply to the contents this culture`s media. I would like people to think for themselves.
† In 1993 you released your CD "The Big Problem." Do you get any future goals of doing another album? If so, what will it sound like?
There exists another group of recordings that have been almost completed for a long time but my mind and energy has been involved with complementary and then touring with the film. There is another album`s worth of material recorded that needs a little work done to it to release it, but it is not where my mind has been. At some degree I will complete those recordings and turn them, but again my films are my priority.
† When doing the film Rubin and Ed, did you come up with the style of Rubin Farr or was that in the quran? Is there any chance that this voice will constitute another appearance on film?
I have never confirmed nor denied in media whether I appeared on the David Letterman show and your mind may contribute towards a determination to that query so I will people see it out on their own by viewing these clips in chronological order. The dates are accurate below but may not be accurate on YouTube, please use the below dates for accurate reference.
David Letterman 1986, Clowny Clown Clown video 1989, Rubin and Ed 1991, Little Loca 2005.
† A lot of plenty must be curious about what kind of movies you like. What are 5 of your favorite/must-see films and why?
My favourite film lists go in to the hundreds and there are a lot of my very favorite films that are just one offs where the director only made one video that I like. Many of the below directors have made multiple films that I admire.
Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Luis Buuel, Stanley Kubrick, Todd Browning, FW Murnau, Fritz Lang, Akira Kurusawa, Frank Wysbar, Milos Foreman, Roman Polanski, Frederico Fellini, David Lynch, John Waters, Russ Meyer, Karel Zeman, Abbas Kiarostami, Wong Kar Wei, Gaspar Noe, Orson Wells, John Cassavetis, Dennis Hopper, Timothy Carey.
† In the film The Doors you played Andy Warhol. Did you ever meet Warhol and how was it playing such an iconic person?
I think that impression in 1990. To my knowledge I was the low individual to portray Andy Warhol in a feature film. I had met Andy Warhol and talked with him a bit at Madonna and Sean Penn`s wedding in 1985 five days old to portraying him. After I spoke with him I stood back and watched him and how he moved. I thought he would be an interesting person to get some time. The 1st time I hard about a show that had him as a type was for the Doors film and I pursued the quality and auditioned for Oliver Stone. I did cause certain concerns about how to present the role but many of the concerns were about having the character say less and Oliver Stone was very good to go with as a director.
† You worked with David Lynch in "Wild at Heart" - the two of you together seems like a dream mash-up, and Eraserhead obviously had some influence on you. What was it like working with Lynch? Got any favorite memories or stories from the experience?
When I was 16 in 1980 and I had learned how to read I would go see Erasherhead playing midnights at the Nuart over and over. I was in acting class at the time and there is no question that the movie had run on my acting. It was great to play with him on Wild At Heart and see the true character psychology motivating the sort of lead I had admired in his film Eraserhead. David Lynch specifically had a business run on What is it? because he had agreed to executive produce a different film for me to direct. This project will eventually be part three of the trilogy this project will be titled IT IS MINE.
† I must ask_ Friday the 13th, part 4. Your dance. Where did you get up with that?
I asked for them to run "Back in Black" by AC/DC when I was supposed to dance in that scene. That was the dance I came up with for it. They did not use "Back in Black" in the soundtrack. Some people have put a clip of it up on YouTube with the AC/DC track, but it is not synched correctly. It was certainly an unusually way to dance to that division of music but the motions of the dance fit properly to that song if it correctly synched.
† How do Canadians and people from other countries respond to your films, as opposed to an American audience?
Spontaneous discussions and even arguments have erupted amongst audience members with each other during the Q and A session for What is it? I conceive this to be appointed as it means people are having strong thoughtful reactions to the film. I have found that the people that have the most aggressive questioning about the picture are in the US. So far I have shown the films in the US Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. It makes sense to me that the most aggressive questions are in the US because the film it very much reacting specifically to US media. It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE. has a more universal reaction wherever I prove it. That is because the film operates with an emotional catharsis for the Steven C. Character and that emotional catharsis is not divisive by media influence whereas What is it? is a my psychological reaction specifically to US corporate control in the last 30 years.
† You write, act, direct, make albums_ is there anything you`d like to do that you haven`t done?
I am very much concentrating on continuing to do my own films.
Don`t miss Crispin Hellion Glover`s current tour! Each event consists of "different combinations of the following": Big Slide Show (one hour dramatic account of 8 different profusely illustrated books he has made over the years), film screening, Q & A session, book signing. The dates, venues and showtimes are listed here.
Are you an admirer of Crispin Glover? What do you think of his corporate criticisms? His alternative approach to creating and distributing art?
Japanese Word of the Day: Matomeru = Gather, bring together, organize Song of the Day: Crispin Glover`s `Ben` video from Willard.
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