tectactoe

Hi Don,

I'm going to ramble uncontrollably before I ask my question.

I remember being so excited to see Rejected on Adult Swim back in 2001, only to learn that it had been canceled (though later postponed) for including the words "Sweet Jesus." I eventually caught it the following year when it aired and have been enamored with your work ever since.

I absolutely cannot miss my chance to say THANK YOU. I lost both of my grandmothers to Alzheimers/dementia not far apart, and shortly after that, I lost my father at a young age (he was only 51) back in 2011. I fell into a pretty heavy depression for a while and though I never became suicidal, I shut myself off from friends, family, the world. It lasted for a while.

The following year, I saw (the feature length) It's Such a Beautiful Day for the first time. I can't even accurately put into words how deeply it affected me. The feelings and notions you were able to so effortlessly capture and portray just floored me. There's of course a deep sadness in ISaBD, but there's also a profound sense of renewed hope underneath it all.

I still make it a point to watch ISaBD at least once a year, sometimes more. (The Blu-Ray quality is fantastic.) I watched a few days after I proposed to my (at-the-time) girlfriend, I watched it the DAY before we left on our honeymoon after getting married, and I most recently watched it not long after finding out my wife was pregnant. To this day, no other film can make me laugh and cry like this one does. No other film draws me into such a deep state of awe, melancholy, and reflection, only to pull me out my the end and reassure me that everything is going to be okay. It will forever hold a place in my personal top 10 of all-time. I couldn't miss my one opportunity to let you know how positively your work has affected me. And to thank you for doing what you do.

Now the actual question!

Growing up, what other filmmaker(s)/artist(s) were your biggest inspiration(s)? Whose work affected you so deeply that you eventually decided, "that's what I want to do for the rest of my life?"

(Also, because why not -- favorite movie of all-time?)

Don -- thank you so much for the reply!! And I'm super jealous of you for getting to see EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in theaters. (Hoping they bring it back in a few years for the 40th anniversary.)