"MY SPOON IS TOO BIG." "I AM A BANANA."
Tonight, I went to the IFC Center for a showing of Don Hertzfeldt's films.
You know who he is. Maybe. If you don't, I won't hold it against you.
I got a ticket for the 11:15 showing because that's the only show that wasn't sold out. I got down there in plenty of time. After getting my ticket from the box office because I had already ordered it online, I went to eat some fries before the film began.
I saw a number of Hertzfeldt's films on the screen, tonight, many of which I had only seen on my computer in poor quality. They are much more humorous when the sound is good and the sold-out theater laughs with you.
I never saw Hertzfeldt's The Meaning of Life before tonight, and I'm glad I didn't. I can only imagine seeing such a funny, handmade, and moving thing like that in a huge auditorium with very comfortable seats. Everything Will Be OK was also fantastic and it made me very happy to see it, for some reason. Its sequel, I Am So Proud Of You, is even better.
Then we had the Q&A, and I was shocked to find out Hertzfeldt seemed enlightened and modest. He frequently referred to himself and his work method as "stupid," though he seems to care about what he does. He answered a lot of good questions in funny ways.
I asked, "Do you consciously add paranoia to your work?" He answered sort of oddly, "Who told you to ask that question?" He said it in a good natured enough way, then he went on to talk about how he reads a lot of non-fiction, psychology, specifically. He claims he doesn't come up with ideas, they catch him. That sounds reasonable enough. Afterward, I wondered if I had asked the equivalent of a "Where do you get your ideas?" question, but I don't think I did.
The Q&A ended with him sharing a story about the time he saw a Monty Python reunion. Unlike people who sort of site Monty Python just to site them, he explained how it had had a genuine impact on his work. I thought that was sweet.
I'll edit this entry and throw in more details tomorrow.
You know who he is. Maybe. If you don't, I won't hold it against you.
I got a ticket for the 11:15 showing because that's the only show that wasn't sold out. I got down there in plenty of time. After getting my ticket from the box office because I had already ordered it online, I went to eat some fries before the film began.
I saw a number of Hertzfeldt's films on the screen, tonight, many of which I had only seen on my computer in poor quality. They are much more humorous when the sound is good and the sold-out theater laughs with you.
I never saw Hertzfeldt's The Meaning of Life before tonight, and I'm glad I didn't. I can only imagine seeing such a funny, handmade, and moving thing like that in a huge auditorium with very comfortable seats. Everything Will Be OK was also fantastic and it made me very happy to see it, for some reason. Its sequel, I Am So Proud Of You, is even better.
Then we had the Q&A, and I was shocked to find out Hertzfeldt seemed enlightened and modest. He frequently referred to himself and his work method as "stupid," though he seems to care about what he does. He answered a lot of good questions in funny ways.
I asked, "Do you consciously add paranoia to your work?" He answered sort of oddly, "Who told you to ask that question?" He said it in a good natured enough way, then he went on to talk about how he reads a lot of non-fiction, psychology, specifically. He claims he doesn't come up with ideas, they catch him. That sounds reasonable enough. Afterward, I wondered if I had asked the equivalent of a "Where do you get your ideas?" question, but I don't think I did.
The Q&A ended with him sharing a story about the time he saw a Monty Python reunion. Unlike people who sort of site Monty Python just to site them, he explained how it had had a genuine impact on his work. I thought that was sweet.
I'll edit this entry and throw in more details tomorrow.