Glaswegian stand-up comedian Arnold Brown, the "grandfather of alternative comedy", is aiming to make a semi-fictionalised film of his life dubbed "the patisserie version of Trainspotting".

And Why Not?, a title based on the laconic comedian's famous catchphrase, is set to star Miriam Margolyes, Bill Paterson, David Schneider and Helen Lederer. It's billed as "the funniest film ever about a Glaswegian Jewish ex-accountant".

The comedian hosted a chat show with the cast earlier in November to launch a Kickstarter funding campaign. Held at the Soho Theatre as part of the Jewish Film Festival, they discussed Brown's career and many of the project's themes.

The film will be directed by Jes Benstock, who was nominated for the Perrier Award as part of the Merry Mac Fun Show, a year before Arnold won the prize. The duo first met at the Edinburgh Fringe in the 1980s and recently made two short films together for Channel 4's Random Acts strand.

Benstock says: "At first we thought we were going to make a documentary, but we quite quickly realised that one of the most exciting thing about Arnold is the surreal contents of his mind. So we thought: 'why don't we set a film inside his mind?'"

And Why Not? will explore the pivotal moment in Arnold's life when he turned from accountancy to comedy and ended up in the vanguard of the alternative comedy movement appearing in The Comic Strip, The Young Ones, Saturday Live, and supporting Frank Sinatra on stage at Glasgow's Ibrox Park.

Benstock explains the film's plot: "Arnold is forced to re-examine himself, to re-encounter his Jewishness, his Glaswegianness, and to discover for the first time his comedy mojo, which propels him on to the stage of the Comedy Store on its opening night."

"I came back despite public demand", said Brown, who will narrate and make a cameo appearance. While the role of a younger Arnold has yet to be cast, Miriam Margolyes will play his Aunt Sophie who helps him discover his destiny, while David Schneider will play twin brother Rabbis. Bill Paterson, with whom Arnold worked in Bill Forsyth's 1984 comedy Comfort And Joy, is to be an old school friend, and Helen Lederer is set to play new age mystic Mary Hill.

At the time of writing, the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is now well under way and has gathered support among Arnold's fans, including Stephen Fry. The project has until the 12th December 2013 to reach its £9,000 funding goal.

Backers can pledge any amount to help the film get made, with those pledging a large amount getting to spend an afternoon with Arnold.

Arnold has joined Twitter to help highlight his project, and on Monday (2nd December) will be live tweeting from a secret patisserie between 2pm and 5pm. The hashtag will be #AndWhyNot. @ArnoldBrownYnot

Here is a video explaining more about the project:

To get the full details visit the Kickstarter page