College Times

Media Credit: Rocky Schenck

Crispin Glover is quite a character.

He certainly has played some memorable ones too, including George McFly in the original “Back to the Future,” The Thin Man in the newest installments of “Charlie’s Angels” and, of course, the title character in “Willard.”

Now, Hollywood success has given him the financial freedom to pursue his own, self-funded filmmaking aspirations, including the offbeat “What Is It?”

The filmmaker/actor/musician/author/cult hero recently talked to College Times in anticipation of a screening of his film in Chandler this weekend, which also includes public readings from several of his books.

College Times: Tell me a little bit about “What Is It?”

Crispin Glover: Most of the actors in the film have Down syndrome, but it’s not about Down syndrome at all. What I usually say is being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe and how to get home, as tormented by a hubristic, racist inner-psyche, which does give some kind of an outline of what happens in the film when somebody’s seen it. Really, it’s my psychological reaction to the corporate restraints that have happened in the last 20 and 30 years in corporately-funded and distributed film. And, that is, when anything, really, that can possibly make an audience member uncomfortable, it’s necessarily excised. Or, that film will not be corporately-funded or distributed. I think it’s a very bad thing, because it’s that moment when an audience member sits back in their chair, looks up at the screen and thinks to themselves, ‘Is this right what I’m watching? Is this wrong what I’m watching? Should I be here? Should the filmmaker have done this? What is it?’ And that’s the name of the film, what is it that’s taboo in the culture ... what does it mean when the taboo is ubiquitously excised, and I think it’s a very bad thing because when people are asking those questions, they’re having a genuinely educational experience. And to ubiquitously excise anything that people can really have genuine question about is very damaging to the culture.

So you’re a film and television actor, do stage performance, write and perform music and write books … is there anything you don’t do? Or anything you’re just bad at?

Well, it’s not about bad or good; it’s what one is compelled to be doing. And truly, my main focus at this point in my life is the films. I haven’t made the books in many, many years. It’s possible I could get into making some books again, and I want to continue publishing the books I’ve made already … But, really, my main focus in my life now is producing and making my own films. And the way that I’m really supporting that is by acting in other people’s films. So those two things are still very important to me. On some level, those other things are more peripheral.

Crispin Glover, Chandler Cinemas, 2140 N. Arizona Avenue, Chandler, 480.821.1605, Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11, 7 p.m., $18

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