Repo Man glows on the Central Library’s roof tonight

Harry Dean Stanton’s filmography unrolls like Jack Kerouac’s original On the Road scroll. It’s long and it’s weird, and it shows an actor who has toured every freeway, hobo camp and cul-de-sac in film and television. A random glance at his IMDB page shows these three successive appearances: Escape From New York, Laverne & Shirley, and One From the Heart. Lowbrow John Carpenter classic, Francis Ford Coppola bomb, Lenny and Squiggy in the middle. And that was just 1981-82, when Stanton was already 114 years old.

Emilio Estevez? We don’t usually talk about Martin Sheen’s less-tabloidy son, but credit where it’s due: He did a Coppola, too (a good one, The Outsiders). And he balances Stanton with just the right youthful dullness in Repo Man, tonight’s 1984: Rave New World movie on the roof of the Central Library (14 West 10th Street).

Is it going to rain tonight? Maybe. (If so, the movie moves indoors without a hitch — and without turning down the volume on this movie’s soundtrack, a battered postcard from L.A.’s punk heyday.) But what do you care when radioactive space aliens may still be out there? 

The library opens its doors at 8 p.m., and the movie goes on around dusk (8:45-ish). It’s free. As usual, there’s beer — also free — from KC Bier Co., and you can eat cheap before or after the movie at Milwaukee Delicatessen. 

Once again, Bob Butler and I will introduce the movie, following a locally made short film, courtesy of the Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City. And after we’re done blasting that soundtrack CD and doing a little homework. 

See you on the roof.