Don Hertzfeldt: "I Feel Like a LIve-Action Filmmaker Who Just Happens to Draw"

One of the myriad joys of writing for the A.V. Club is that there's an audience for pieces that might meet with a shrug elsewhere. Case in point: my interview with animator Don Hertzfeldt, who's currently touring the country with his hilarious and unsettling short films. I lucked into Hertzfeldt's shorts early on — my review of Billy's Balloon was blurbed on his site, which thrilled me at the time — at still remember the shock I felt watching Rejected, which began in by-now familiar territory and somehow managed by the end to tap into a profound sense of existential terror, which I feel safe to say was the first time I was genuinely moved by a piece whose protagonists were exclusively stick figures. He's built up a well-deserved following over the years, recently selling out four shows at New York's IFC Center, and it was a delight to connect with him to discuss, among other things, the completion of the "Bill trilogy": Everything Will Be OK, I am so proud of you and It's such a beautiful day. See him if you can, and check out the DVDs at his site if you can't.