The Beaver Trilogy Collection

Number of Movies: 5

Overview

Trent Harris' multi-part avant-garde art piece.

Featured Cast

Jared Hess

Himself

Sean Penn

Himself (archive footage)

Crispin Glover

Himself (archive footage)

Bill Hader

Narrator

Featured Crew

Brad Besser

Directing

Brad Besser

Directing

Brad Besser

Directing

Kelly Williams

Production

Jonathan Duffy

Production

Brad Besser

Directing

5 Movies

The Beaver Kid

September 4, 1979

A short documentary about the exploits of "Groovin' Gary", a performer that filmmaker Harris happened upon while filming for a Salt Lake City, Utah news station.

The Beaver Kid 2

September 4, 1981

The Beaver Kid 2 features Sean Penn as "Groovin' Larry" Huff in a dramatic interpretation of the original documentary. It incorporated some scenes from the original documentary. The Beaver Kid 2 was shot on a budget of $100.

The Orkly Kid

October 1, 1985

Larry (Crispin Glover) organizes a talent show in an attempt to get on TV but the small town of Orkly, Idaho, isn't ready for his Olivia Newton-John impersonation.

Beaver Trilogy

August 13, 2000

Our story begins in 1979, with a chance meeting in a Salt Lake City parking lot where filmmaker Trent Harris is approached by an earnest small-town dreamer from Beaver, Utah. Harris jumps at the chance when the young man invites him to come to the small town to film a talent show. At the show, the man dons a blond wig and performs in drag as Olivia Newton John. Harris captures it all on tape: A portrait of a true outsider. Harris shot a dramatic piece, "Beaver Kid 2" based on the documentary; This interpretation of the story, made in 1981 on a home video camera with a budget of $100, features a young Sean Penn as "the Beaver Kid". Still possessed, Harris then rewrote the script, cast up-and-comer Crispin Glover in the lead, and created the final segment, "The Orkly Kid", with funding from the American Film Institute. The trilogy unveils the inner world of a fantastic character in three incarnations.

Beaver Trilogy Part IV

January 23, 2015

A chance meeting in a parking lot in 1979 between filmmaker Trent Harris and a young man from Beaver, Utah inspired the creation of an underground film that is now known as Beaver Trilogy. But the film itself is only part of the story.

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