The documentary "Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" is finally finished and coming to nowhere near the Twin Cities soon.
The movie about the songwriter and Magnetic Fields vocalist will get a sneak preview Feb. 28 at the Noise Pop Film Festival in San Francisco, and will be screened in mid-March at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. No Twin Cities screening has yet been announced.
A hilarious movie trailer shows Merritt explaining himself to a taxi driver who says, "I nevuh hoyd of ya." The trailer's best line comes from Wisconsin-based writer Neil Gaiman, who describes the witty, droll, ballcap-wearing songwriter as "the Grumpy of rock 'n' roll," who "made Lou Reed look like Little Orphan Annie."
Other things we learn in the trailer: Merritt has lots of books and CDs, he wants to be a Playboy bunny and he pampers his chihuahua, whose name is Irving Berlin.
