The Beaver Trilogy

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.