Actor, writer Crispin Glover showcases independent film to help Byrd effort

Jordan Wilson

Staff Writer

Actor/producer/writer Crispin Hellion Glover hosted “An Evening with Crispin Glover,” at the Byrd Theatre Friday night, part of his current worldwide tour  to screen and promote his newest film project titled, “It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE,” about a man with a severe case of cerebral palsy who compulsively murders long-haired women.

The event, which began at 9:30 p.m., consisted of three parts: Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show, where Mr. Glover performed a one-hour dramatic reading of eight different abundantly illustrated books – “Rat Catching,” “The New World,” and “What it is and How it is Done,” to name a few – A screening of “It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE,” part two of Glover’s “It” Trilogy, and a Q&A session followed by a book signing.

“Artistically, usually I find that I am reactive to things, whether … in the books, they’re words that I like, or actually, they are usually words that I don’t like,” Glover said when asked about his inspiration for his books and films, which are artistically subversive in nature.

Because Glover produces his films himself, his newest film, “What is It?” and “It is Mine,” which has yet to be released, can only be seen while he is on tour and are not to be distributed widely on DVD or Blu-ray.

In addition to acting in popular movies like “Back to the Future” and the more recent “Hot Tub Time Machine,” Glover has written several books.

His writing is a stream of consciousness in which he writes continuously as ideas come into his head, and he begins to form little stories. He then returns to his writing and deletes words that he doesn’t like or feels are unnecessary.

A passage from “Rat Catching” shows this stream of consciousness in Glover’s writing:  “Don’t be bitten; but it is not a very serious thing if you are, as ferrets’ bites are never venomous, as the bites of rats often are. I have in my time been bitten by ferrets many dozens of times and have never suffered ill effects.”

He also released an album in 1989 entitled “The Big Problem ≠ The Solution, the Solution = Let It Be,”  which consisted of a combination of spoken work and songs, including a song called “Clowny Clown Clown” and a peculiar cover of the classic Nancy Sinatra song, “These Boots Were Made for Walking.”

“I have always drawn and written from a young age, and I always liked art and words,” Glover said.

In balancing his commercial work with his more personal projects, he discussed how he essentially takes on projects like “Charlie’s Angels” in order to easier fund the work that he truly cares for on an artistic and emotional level.

“I tend to believe that (my newest film) is the best work I have ever done in my career,” Glover said. “The next film in the trilogy will hopefully be as significant to me. I think it truly will be.”

After the Q&A, during which Glover eloquently and amply answered audience questions regarding the film and his other work, Glover signed books in the lobby. Although it was a long line of fans, he took about three minutes with each group to chat more personally and to take photographs.

He will continue to tour in the coming years, and after completing the third film of his trilogy, he will tour to promote that.

In discussing his future tours and other work on the horizon, Glover said to refer to his official website, crispinglover.com, run through his production company, Volcanic Eruptions, which is located in Los Angeles, California. Glover produces his films, books and music through the company.