Pitchfork

Guy Maddin-- Winnipeg wonder and cinema auteur, known for marrying the gauzy aesthetic of the silent era with MTV-age pacing and spectacle-- returned last fall with perhaps his most ambitious project yet: the semi- autobiographical fantasy bonanza Brand Upon the Brain!! (first exclamation his; second, mine).

In order to give Brain! the appropriately over-the-top showings it deserves in 2007, Maddin has enlisted the aid of Foley artists, castrati (men who sing in very, very high voices), a full-on orchestra, and a rotating cast of ace celebrity narrators, including a few folks who sometimes also dabble in that music stuff: Lou Reed, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, and beloved performance artist Laurie Anderson.

Each grabs the mic for one of Brain!'s upcoming New York screenings, which also boast renowned poet John Ashbery, cult actor Crispin Glover, and Maddin's favorite starlet Isabella Rossellini (whose narration also graces the film's recorded soundtrack).

Chicago gets two nights and two matinees with Crispin Glover (booya!), while filmmaker Joan Chen provides the voiceover to the San Francisco screening. Maddin has not yet announced the special guest narrator(s) for a quartet of Los Angeles happenings.

A full list of screenings and live narrators lies ahead, and director Maddin himself will appear at the New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles events.

Narrators by city:

San Francisco screening (at Castro Theater):

05-07 Joan Chen (8 p.m.)

New York screenings (at Village East Cinemas):

05-09 Crispin Glover (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.)
05-10 Anne Jackson (7 p.m.)
05-10 Eli Wallach (9:30 p.m.)
05-11 Joie Lee (7 p.m.)
05-11 Crispin Glover (9:30 p.m.)
05-12 Laurie Anderson (7 p.m.)
05-12 Lou Reed (9:30 p.m.)
05-13 Justin Bond (3 p.m.)
05-13 John Ashbery (7 p.m.)
05-13 Tunde Adebimpe (9:30 p.m.)
05-14 Edward Hibbert (7 p.m.)
05-14 Peter Scarlet (9:30 p.m.)
05-15 Isabella Rossellini (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.)

Chicago screenings (at Music Box Theatre):

05-18 Crispin Glover (7:30 p.m.)
05-19 Crispin Glover (2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)
05-20 Crispin Glover (2:30 p.m.)

Los Angeles screenings (at Egyptian Theatre):

06-08 TBA (7:30 p.m.)
06-09 TBA (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.)
06-10 TBA (7:30 p.m.)