Howl. NOT a documentary about the making of Shakira's She-Wolf video.

Howl yelped into theaters last week, and continues to spread  to theaters across the country like an illegal substance at a poetry slam. I sat down with the thoroughly charming writers/directors behind the film last week to chat about their inspiration for the film's look, how they mixed facts and narrative, and the ways in which the 1957 obscenity trial in the movie mirrors the gay marriage debate today.

The film, Howl, stars James Franco as beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and consists of a bunch of different things all centered around Ginsberg's most famous poem. There's a psychedelic animation of the poem itself, scenes with Ginsberg reading the poem, flashbacks to his life before writing the poem, and also an "Inherit The Wind" bit showing when the poem was put on naughty word trial. SPOILER ALERT: THIS PART FEATURES JON HAMM. It's a potpourri of beat generation fun.

Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are also the team behind such great docs as The Celluloid Closet and Paragraph 175. Check to see if Howl is coming to a theater near you here.

Also check out the full trailer after the break...