Actor, director, writer, and erstwhile musician Crispin Glover is one strange dude. He's best known as George McFly from Back to the Future — and for an infamous 1987 David Letterman appearance (which you should promptly watch on YouTube) in which he almost karate-kicked Letterman in the face. Apparently still working, Glover stops by for some quality time with his fans at the Cleveland Cinematheque this weekend, toting What Is It?, his critically acclaimed and kinda-creepy 2005 experimental art flick.The evening with the eccentric will start with "The Big Slide Show," a PowerPoint presentation by Glover on his eight books, four of which have been published and all of which are heavily illustrated rewrites of obscure 19th-century works like The Backward Swing, The Happy Journey, and Rat Catching. Next comes What Is It?, Glover's controversial and self-financed directorial debut featuring actors with Down Syndrome, porn stars wearing animal masks, a naked Shirley Temple, swastikas, and other fun stuff. "The concept with Down Syndrome actors was so taboo that I wanted to do it myself, so studios wouldn't excise those parts," says Glover. "I want the audience to have moments when they feel genuinely uncomfortable and have to question things. Is this right? Is this wrong? Should the filmmaker have done this? It's when somebody is asking those good questions that they're having an educational experience."All those queries — or, if you prefer, a Biff-style noogie — can be directed at Glover during a Q&A session after the film, when he will also take questions on his career, such as "Which seven drugs were you high on during Letterman?" Journey into the mind of a certified weirdo at 7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. tonight at the Cleveland Cinematheque, 11141 East Boulevard. Admission is $15 to $20. Call 216-421-7450 or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque.
Sat., April 26, 7 p.m., 2008
