Guest
According to Utah-based filmmaker Trent Harris, “It’s very seldom that you capture something that’s happening in front of you” while making a documentary. Harris experienced this in 1979: while testing a camera in the parking lot of Salt Lake City’s KUTV2, he happened to meet Richard Griffiths, aka “Groovin’ Gary,” a 21-year-old celebrity impersonator. The vérité short that followed—“Beaver Kid,” named for Griffiths’ hometown—kicks off the cult masterpiece Beaver Trilogy. In the first chapter, Griffiths invites Harris to a talent show he has organized solely for his grand finale: a musical number in drag as his idol, Olivia Newton-John. Although “Beaver Kid” was meant to air on KUTV2, Harris left it unedited; he was concerned about exploiting Griffiths, who attempted suicide soon after filming. So Harris fictionalized all of these elements in 1981’s “Beaver Kid 2,” starring a then-unknown Sean Penn during his downtime from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Still unsatisfied, Harris expanded this piece into 1985’s higher-budget “The Orkly Kid,” and in another remarkable coincidence, cast a then-unknown Crispin Glover. Finally, in 2000, Harris decided to edit the 1979 footage and combine everything into a feature.
