LARS SHRIKE WALKS THE NIGHT: Kelsey Grammer Joins Gary Walkow’s Latest Project

Kelsey Grammer joins Lars Shrike Walks the Night in post-production.

Kelsey Grammer cast in science fiction film by inventive filmmaker Gary Walkow, Lars Shrike Walks the Night.

We would be hard-pressed to find an actor with more wide-ranging experience, among genres as well as roles, than Kelsey Grammer. His most recent portrayal is that of a real life pastor in Jesus Revolution, released three months ago, focusing on the stagnation of fundamental Christian church membership in the late 1960’s, and its appeal to counterculture youth, i. e. ‘hippies.’

No stranger to science fiction, Kelsey Grammer distinguished himself with a Saturn nomination for X-Men: The Last Stand. Grammer has been very busy throughout his career, and no wonder; he’s remarkably diverse. No one could fairly argue the excellence of acting he brought to television over the decades, in addition to that of crafting of his iconic (and highly portable) character, Dr. Frasier Crane. Likewise, consider his role as the corrupt General in the acclaimed HBO movie, The Pentagon Wars, compared to his noteworthy performance as Scrooge five years later in a rousing Broadway musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol for NBC.

Lars Shrike Walks the Night is currently in post production, and Grammer takes on the eponymous role. Presumably this is the title role as well, but we can’t be sure, since there is no logline or synopsis available; the given genre is science fiction. The title character’s last name may carry some clues. The shrike is a family of carnivorous birds with a characteristic shrieking song. The Navy borrowed the name for a number of its ‘anti-radiation’ missile designs, which suggests something apocalyptic. And could the contrast with ‘Lars’ — a common name among peace loving Scandinavians — suggest some tongue in cheek? Why not? It’s something that Grammer is especially good at.

Gary Walkow’s professional reputation as a writer and director is certainly a peculiar one. A recording on the 2014 BBC podcast, The Essay, is a mine of information regarding Walkow’s existential approach to filmmaking and seems to minimize commercial considerations. That said, maybe the best example is found in his 2000 biopic, Beat. This film explores the weeks leading up to the murder of Joan Vollmer by her husband, William S. Burroughs, in Mexico City. Walkow even went to the extent of filming in the very same apartment where the event took place. Critics at the time felt that Beat held its own against David Cronenberg,’s Naked Lunch, adapted from Burroughs’ own rather psychedelic biographical work.

Considering all of the above, Lars Shrike Walks the Night promises to be a curious addition to Kelsey Grammer’s canon as well as Walkow’s, and we may not have to wait long to screen it; the project is in post-production, but as yet a distributor has not been announced.

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