(I'll return to the thread to answer this one post.)
Ray wrote:Isn't it sad that we're so selfish?
We're not concerned about Anno as a human being dying, we're concerned about his creations not being completed. A 'what have you done for me?" mentality.
Yes, this. When Satoshi Kon died, I felt sadder than I ever expected for that man. Not the saddest I've ever felt for a human being dying, mind you, (Hell, some tragic shit has happened to my friends that even Shakespeare would be surprised at,) but still sadder than I thought I would be. The news came outta nowhere for me, happened to a relatively young man (40's is too young to be dying), and he had left behind his grieving friends and family in the process. His body of work was the only way that I was able to connect with the man, and even that left a very distinct impact on me as to what kind of person this man may be like. I felt like I knew certain aspects of him that I wouldn't have known of most other filmmakers without needing to watch a documentary or hear an audio commentary, and it was all just from watching his movies. When I heard that he had passed away, I was sad that this man, a man who thought these things and felt this way, had died. It wasn't until after I heard of his death that I found out that he was working on a now un-finished film. And, yes. I did want to see that film. Hell, I still want to see that film, even if it's in its unfinished form. I want to see it because I want to see the last filmic words of a dying artist, and what he was trying to say to us. I didn't want to see it because I was selfish or anything. My interest was purely in the sense of "I'm here, Kon-san. What is it?"
I feel the same would be the case of Anno had died. Heck, if he dies before finishing Shin Eva, the only thing I'd want to pick up from him, entertainment-wise, would be the script he left behind. I don't care about the movie. Hell, I'll watch EoE at the end of Eva Q. I'll even watch Godzilla Resurgence as the follow-up to Eva Q. It doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is what this man wanted to tell us in his last days on Earth. And, if for some reason, he wanted to keep his last days on Earth private, to keep his last filmic thoughts locked away from us forever, that's fine too. It doesn't matter to me. I'll still support the work of Khara. I'll still support the work of Moyoco. I'll sob reading his obituaries. This would be my grieving process to the news of a death of one of my favorite living filmmakers. It won't be some rage about his unfinished works never being released, and it certainly won't be about how the world is better off without him. It'll be about his family, his friends, and his legacy. In that order. That is all.
Good day to this thread, sir.
