Richard Linklater Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As a pretty big fan of Richard Linklater (the writer, the filmmaker, the artist, the dude), I was totally bummed to hear that the guy is having ridiculous amounts of trouble getting another film off the ground. As we told you earlier, the three potential projects he was working on (That's What I'm Talking About, Liars (A to E) and School of Rock 2) have all but been erased for various reasons (even though all three have tremendous commercial potential), not to mention that his latest film, Me and Orson Welles (which is definitely worth the watch) has been delayed for over a year. It's disheartening to see a wickedly talented filmmaker like Linklater get shoved off to the side, but as Jeffrey Anderson pointed out in his latest 400 Screens, 400 Blows column, perhaps part of it has to do with folks just not being interested in coming-of-age films right now (see; Whip It, Adventureland), which is the type of stuff Linklater specializes in.

So while we wait for someone to give the guy what he needs to make another film, we dug up this retro interview with Linklater where he talks about the making of Dazed and Confused for almost a half hour. It's a great relaxed no-budget interview that really showcases Linklater and gives some dynamite insight into the making of the film. Says Linklater, "It's pretty much a teenage male perspective because in my opinion males have this raging energy at that time. But if you listen closely, the women really are more interesting characters -- the little bits of dialogue you get, in the girl's bathroom, there's a lot more interesting thought going on there."

Watch the full interviews after the jump.

If Richard Linklater did not exist, I would never have thought his fame would be possible. Here's a director who has found mainstream success in intellectual thought and aimlessness -- not something Hollywood usually takes kindly to.

Slacker earned raves, cult status, and inspired Kevin Smith to create Clerks. Dazed and Confused followed, quickly becoming one of the quintessential high school flicks, merging stoner simplicity with political and social discussion. Before Sunrise charmed audiences with romantic discussion, The Newton Boys revealed interests reaching beyond modern day, Waking Life took on rotoscoping to discuss philosophy, Before Sunset quickly became a widely loved talk-centric romance, then fast food and Philip K. Dick fare, and now time with Orson Welles. (Not to mention those penned by others, like the one-room drama Tape.)

Yet the guy can't catch a flipping break.

Click image below to view full poster

In Me and Orson Welles, Zac Efron plays a scrappy young actor who manages to get on Orson Welles' good side and earn himself a part in Welles' stage production of Julius Caesar. For a while, anyway. The film, set in the '30s, is directed by Richard Linklater and offers plenty of talent, both big name -- Claire Danes and Efron, natch -- and smaller ones that are on the rise, like Zoe Kazan.

James Rocchi reviewed Me and Orson Welles at TIFF in 2008, and had plenty of good things to say about it: "Linklater gets the tone of a behind-the-scenes comedy drama just right, the flurry of activity on-stage and the "noises off," the parts played when the lights are up and the roles played when the theater is empty.... Me and Orson Welles won't find a mass audience, but the audience that does will find it has a lot to recommend it."

Check out the exclusive poster premiere for Me and Orson Welles by clicking below, and make sure to check out the film when it hits theaters on November 25th. You can also watch the trailer after the jump. Enjoy!

Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.

Festivals. As one of our two resident Canadians, Monika B. fittingly wrote about the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off tonight. If Telluride warmed things up for the fall film scene, Toronto aims to light the sucker on fire. The hardest part for indie fanatics is keeping up with all the offerings that will soon be on tap. Keep it right here at Cinematical for our coverage from Toronto, and watch this space every week to catch up on any major news items you might have missed. (And for those who keep asking, yes, The Brothers Bloom, pictured in the collage in the upper left, will be coming to DVD soon -- it's due on September 29, complete with an audio commentary by director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman plus deleted scenes.)

Deals. Acquisition news is spiraling out of control, so I suggest checking indieWIRE for the latest and greatest, where they have details on deals for Richard Linklater's latest, wild and funny music doc Nerdcore Rising, and much more.

Online / On-Demand Viewing. If you missed Linklater's baseball doc Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach when it played on ESPN, now's your chance to catch up -- it's just become available at the iTunes movie store. Don't hesitate to check it out if you're not a sports person; Jette Kernion says: "I'm not into baseball at all, but [the coach] is fascinating to watch at work." If you're a basketball nut and a doc lover, you might enjoy 3 Points, which follows Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady on a trip to Darfur; it's available at Hulu.

Immigration joys and sorrows at the Indie Weekend Box Office -- after the jump!

You have to feel a bit sorry for Jason Bateman, Mike Judge, and anyone else who walked the red carpet -- or worked it, for that matter -- before the Extract world premiere in Austin on Tuesday night. It was triple-digit weather, the red carpet was outdoors, and even in the shade at 7:30 pm it was impossible not to be sweaty. Or glowing, as polite people say. Still, Bateman, who stars in the comedy, and Judge, who wrote and directed it, smiled and posed for photos and granted short interviews to any number of TV stations and news outlets.

I had interviewed Judge earlier in the day, which was a lot of fun and which I'll share with you when Extract opens in theaters on September 4. Therefore I spent my red-carpet time taking photos. I was pleased that we were able to get Bateman and Judge to pose together. Peter Martin, who attended the Dallas premiere the next night, has some great quotes from Judge's Q&A that evening, if you can't wait to hear more about the film.

Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.

Deals. Screen Media Films picked up U.S. rights to Women in Trouble and plans a release on November 13. The film, directed by Sebastian Gutierrez, is "a fun addition to the current trend of revisiting and reworking exploitation-film themes in a lighthearted way," wrote our own Jette Kernion earlier this year. "There's a certain pleasure in seeing a movie where the men are relegated to the Supportive Spouse and Lust Interest roles, after I've seen so many films where those are the only roles for women."

Dave Boyle's White on Rice, described as a heartwarming comedy, has been acquired by Variance Films and Tiger Industry Films; a theatrical release is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on September 11 before expanding throughout the fall. Matt Bradshaw pointed the way to the quietly funny trailer. [More details on both deals can be found at indieWIRE.]

Online / On-Demand Viewing. All you Netflix "Watch Instantly" addicts can get your fix from even more indie films, thanks to Cinetic Rights Management. Matt Dentler notes that Richard Linklater's charming (and hugely influential) Slacker and festival favorites like Bob Odenkirk's Melvin Goes to Dinner and Gabriel Fleming's The Lost Coast, among others, are now available for online streaming to subscribers. I suppose it's a little too obvious to point out the irony of making a movie called Slacker even easier to watch, with almost no effort required at all? Ah, life in the 21st Century.

Who won the Indie Weekend Box Office? It's a laughing matter -- find out after the jump!

The good news: Richard Linklater has found more work. The bad news: It's not Linklater-penned potential awesomeness like That's What I'm Talking About.

Variety reports that the Link is about to sign on the dotted line to direct Liars (A-E). But it's not his usual fare -- the film will be a romantic comedy that focuses on a woman who, for some reason, tries to re-acquire lost items from her exes while traveling to President Obama's inauguration. (Your guess is as good as mine.) Kat Dennings is already on board to play the lead's friend, but no other casting announcements have been made.

A romcom is not exactly the fare Linklater fans would probably hope for, but I have to hope that there's something special about this that lured the director to it. Then again, this could be a move based purely on cash -- both to fill his time since funding doesn't seem to be working out for him these days, and as a means to continue his own indie work. As for the script, that was written by Emma Forrest. You might know her from books like Thin Skin. Or, if you follow the gossip world, she used to date Colin Farrell. Rumor has it that she dumped him when he didn't thank her during his Golden Globes acceptance speech.

Forrest has also been called a "literary lolita" by Vanity Fair (according to her book cover), so let's hope that bodes well for this whole affair.

You know things are bad for the indie world when Richard flipping Linklater can't get a break. The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Biz Blog reports that Linklater's much buzzed-about script called That's What I'm Talking About has been shelved.

Those who've read the script say that it's a return to his Dazed & Confused type of material, although a little more dramatic than the school comedy. I hate to even think the thought, but I imagine it's fair to guess that this is the awesome-sounding 1980 college project that Erik blogged about in March, the one that was supposed to start production this summer. While talent scouts were already zeroing in on actors, Linklater couldn't find funding because no one wanted to fork over the cash without a distributor being in place. Wimps. A rep for Linklater says: "We still think it's very marketable. It just has to go on the shelf for now."

So no classic Linklater to look forward to, unless someone ponies up the dough, and they should, because what could make this summer better than the Link returning to the fare that made him famous?

This could've been the champion of the world.

Dazed and Confused, Part 2. No, I'm not talking about that "spiritual sequel" we learned about in March. I'm talking about an honest-to-goodness sequel bringing back the characters we can't help but love. It seems that Matthew McConaughey, better known as the teen-loving David Wooderson, told MTV that it is a possibility.

"That's a very precious subject, that movie. We made such a gem... I've had loose discussions about what would be the next [in]carnation of a Dazed and Confused... [Richard Linklater is] not going to do it unless it's done the right way. It's a good idea, but he's gotta pick the right way to do it." The actor goes on to say how he'd love to see what everyone would be doing in 1992, and imagines Wooderson might have a few kids and run a community radio station.

While I'm not sure I'd want to see Wooderson in the family way, I would love to see these guys again in more than just quick clips from a reunion picnic. Would Mitch still pinch his brow? What sort of heated debates would Mike and Tony have years later? And would Cynthia still sport a fabulous fro? Is Slater still high? Would Michelle still make music (yes please!)? Is O'Bannion still in high school? Is Darla still a bitch?

If Before Sunset is any indication, this would be a fabulous sequel. Where do you think they all are 20 years later?

The weather is beautiful in most parts of the country today (especially here in New York City), and I couldn't think of a better way to send you into the weekend than to share the news that -- according to our friends at CHUD -- Richard Linklater talked up the new film he's shooting this summer during a recent screening of Dazed and Confused by calling the untitled project "a sort of spiritual sequel" to Dazed.

The film, which Linklater will shoot in and around Austin, Texas this summer, follows kids during their first weekend at college in 1980. No, it won't feature the same actors or characters from Dazed and Confused (because they're all much older now and kinda don't pass as college students), but because Dazed was about the last day of high school and this will be about the first day of college, the latter will make for a great companion piece to the former and the two together will (we hope) one day make for one helluva double bill. Knowing Dazed and Linklater, the soundtrack will be hot and the awkward teen randomness will be plentiful. It's early still, but this just shot up toward the top of my anticipation meter -- what about you?

(Oh, and a Happy Friday to you, too.)