Original subtitles

Hi, my name is Chris, and I'm here to explain some things.

These are from October 1989, when my unbridled romantic worldview was

permanently shattered.

This is from September 1982, when I underwent a catastrophic loss of my

ability to organize my finances in any meaningful way.

But before all that...

I took on a paralyzing, self -defeating, all -pervading dread of personal

failure. October 1963.

Age 2.

But I'm getting off the subject here, I'm afraid.

This story is about Ryan.

I live in Toronto, a city in Canada where I see way too many shades of gray

my own good health.

A few years ago, however, I became friends with a splash of color in the

a slight, fragile gentleman from Montreal named Ryan Larkin.

Hello, Ryan.

Hello, Victor.

Like me, Ryan is a filmmaker and animator.

Three decades ago, he was a rising star in the world of animation.

He's the creator of several short films, two of which have secured his place in

the history of animated filmmaking.

You want me to confess?

Today I asked Ryan if I could record our conversations.

He replied by telling me about a simple inspiration he had back in 1968.

So I said, you know, what I really want to do is make a film just with figures

walking.

Walking figures.

Oh, wow, you got something.

Oh, wow, you got one of the original drawings. Ryan's looking at artwork he

created 35 years ago. This is the first time he's seen this drawing since he

created it. This is amazing.

Oh, wow.

35 years ago, Ryan created thousands of drawings like this one and then put them

together one after the other after the other.

I meet people that say that my films had influenced a whole generation of

animation filmmakers, which is probably true.

It was fabulous. It's a great honor to be nominated.

But then everybody gets nominated for Academy Award eventually.

See, I didn't actually win the Academy Award.

Walt Disney won the award that year. That's how we looked for the Academy

and that's how we looked. This is what you wore to the Academy Awards? Yeah.

You must have stood out like big -time rock stars.

Now I look at this, I think maybe perhaps I would disqualify because of my

costume.

Who is that young woman?

Felicity was the love of my life for a long time.

Ryan was always a little close to the edge.

He was an emotionally fragile person.

You know, his father had been violent when they were young, and I'm sure you

know about the tragedy of his brother's death, and that affected him enormously.

We should have had children.

Guess it wasn't meant to be, eh?

Oh, I still love you.

In 1971, three years after the success of walking, Ryan was struck by another

very simple inspiration, himself.

I was always moving my body around.

in front of mirrors and stuff, and making drawings from my body, you know,

flashes.

And sometimes I even used a camera to record how I was moving because it

to me that I was moving in a very particular way that other people weren't

moving.

That's somebody you know, right? Derek Lamb.

He was my executive producer.

And he was a very nice, a very beautiful man.

Here was a guy that had been bursting with life five or six years earlier. You

know, he could hardly contain the flow of drawings in his cubicle at the film

board. And now here's a guy, you know, who...

Is living out every artist worth fear?

Losing.

And hangry.

The first loss of addiction

produced some amazing work.

A life can be spent.

really trying to get that moment back.

I really do hope that you get back into some serious creative work. That was

one thing I wanted to say.

The other thing that I wanted to say, I'm going to say one thing, one concern

that I have about you, which is your alcohol.

Which is what? Your alcohol.

My alcohol?

Yes, your alcohol.

Your alcoholic consumption is, as you know, pretty high.

I want you to consider...

Beating alcohol in the same way that you beat cocaine.

What?

There's nothing I enjoy more than a good glass of cold beer.

Am I supposed to give that out for, like, tea or something?

No, can't do that.

I personally want to see you around, and I personally want to see you thrive,

Brian.

Fry? Not fried.

I want to see you thrive.

Why? Who's going to buy my creations?

What's in it for me?

I don't create because I've been ripped off so fucking much, I decided to stop

creating.

Creativity, what do you think I can do, you know? I cannot do anything.

I've been deprived.

Deprivation is the most devastating thing.

I will surely, you know, be right on deck. I'll give up booze and give up

cigarettes and be right on deck. If somebody gives me some fucking money,

cannot do anything, anything at all, without the power of money.

I got like about, you know, $10 in my pocket, which is, to me, like a really

happy experience.

But to most people, they spend $10 every 15 minutes.

I can't believe it, man.

What possessed me to bring that subject up?

I look at you, and I see a lot of things about my mom.

You're the brilliant woman.

I look at you, and I see a lot of things about my mom.

I see the way that she went downhill, and I see

the way that you've come to this point.

Failure. We see things.

I thought that if I was silent, there's nothing for them to steal anymore if I

present myself as being just a jerk on the street.

But I'm still acquiring and enjoying human behavior and putting

it back into my work.

Let's pray a little change.

Hey, thanks, man.

Let's sit down.

Let's do it. Let's pray a little change.

Spirit change.

Thank you, sir.

Spirit change, sir.

Thank you, sir. Spirit change, sir.

Spirit change, sir.

Thank you, sir.

You're very kind.

Thank you.