Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater
Linklater in 2015
Born Richard Stuart Linklater
(1960-07-30) July 30, 1960
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation Director, screenwriter, producer, actor
Years active 1985–present[1]
Website detourfilm.com

Richard Stuart Linklater (/ˈlɪŋkleɪtər/; born July 30, 1960)[2] is an American filmmaker and actor. Linklater is mostly known for his realistic and natural humanist films which revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. Some notable films of his include the observational comedy film Slacker (1990); the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993); the romantic drama film trilogy Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003); and the rotoscope animated films Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006).

In 2002, he began filming Boyhood, a passion project which took over twelve years to complete. The film was released in 2014 to widespread critical acclaim. Linklater won the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and BAFTAs for Best Director and Best Picture. He also received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director, along with nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[3]

Many of his films are noted for their loosely structured narrative; several of his projects—the Before... films and Boyhood—feature the same actors filmed over an extended period of years. He is also known for loyalty to his actors, having worked with Ethan Hawke and Matthew McConaughey in many of his films.

Early life

Linklater was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Diane Margaret (née Krieger), who taught at Sam Houston State University, and Charles W. Linklater, III.[4][5] He attended Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Texas, during grades 9–11, and finished at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas for his senior year. As a teen, Linklater also won a Scholastic Art and Writing Award.[6] Linklater studied at Sam Houston State University (where he also played baseball),[7] until dropping out to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. He frequently read novels on the rig and, upon returning to land, developed a love of film through repeated visits to a repertory theater in Houston. At this point, Linklater realized he wanted to be a filmmaker. He used his savings to buy a Super-8 camera, a projector, and editing equipment, and moved to Austin, Texas. He was influenced by Martin Scorsese,[8][9] Robert Bresson, Yasujirō Ozu, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Josef Von Sternberg, and Carl Theodor Dreyer.[10][11] He enrolled in Austin Community College in the fall of 1984 to study film.[12] Since his early 20s, Linklater has been a vegetarian. In 2015, he explained the dietary lifestyle in a Boyhood-style documentary for PETA.[13]

Career

Austin Film Society

Linklater founded the Austin Film Society in 1985 together with his frequent collaborator Lee Daniel. One of the mentors for the Film Society was former New York City critic for the Soho Weekly News George Morris who had relocated to Austin and taught film there. Morris had previously written articles on Leo McCarey, Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, and Douglas Sirk.

Early directing

For several years, Linklater made many short films that were exercises and experiments in film techniques. He finally completed his first feature, the rarely seen It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (which is now available in The Criterion Collection edition of his second feature, Slacker), a Super-8 feature that took a year to shoot and another year to edit. The film is significant in the sense that it establishes most of Linklater's preoccupations. The film has his trademark style of minimal camera movements and lack of narrative, while it examines the theme of traveling with no real particular direction in mind. These idiosyncrasies would be explored in greater detail in future projects. To this end Linklater created Detour Filmproduction (an homage to the 1945 low budget film noir by Edgar G. Ulmer), and subsequently made Slacker for only $23,000. It went on to gross more than $1.25 million. The film is an aimless day in the life of the city of Austin, Texas showcasing its more eccentric characters.

Inspiration for Linklater's work was largely based on his experience viewing the film Raging Bull, Linklater told Robert K. Elder in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life.[14]

It made me see movies as a potential outlet for what I was thinking about and hoping to express. At that point I was an unformed artist. At that moment, something was simmering in me, but Raging Bull brought it to a boil.[15]

While gaining a cult following in the independent film world, he made his third film, Dazed and Confused, based on his years at Huntsville High School and the people he encountered there. The film garnered critical praise and grossed $8 million in the United States while becoming a hit on VHS. This film was also responsible for the breakout of fellow Texas native Matthew McConaughey. In 1995, Linklater won the Silver Bear for Best Director for the film Before Sunrise at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival.[16] His next feature, subUrbia, had mixed reviews critically, and did very poorly at the box office. In 1996, Linklater lent his voice to the critically acclaimed animated feature Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. In 1998, he took on his first Hollywood feature, The Newton Boys, which received mixed reviews while tanking at the box office.

21st century

With the rotoscope films Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, and his mainstream comedies, School of Rock and the remake of Bad News Bears, he gained wider recognition. In 2003, he wrote and directed a pilot for HBO with Rodney Rothman called $5.15/hr, about several minimum wage restaurant workers. The pilot deals with themes later examined in Fast Food Nation. In 2004, the British television network Channel 4 produced a major documentary about Linklater, in which the filmmaker frankly discussed the personal and philosophical ideas behind his films. St Richard of Austin was presented by Ben Lewis and directed by Irshad Ashraf and broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2004 in the UK. In 2005, Linklater was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his film Before Sunset, and was nominated for the same award with its sequel Before Midnight in 2014.

Many of Linklater's films take place in one day, a narrative approach that has gained popularity in recent years. Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Tape, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight are examples of this method. Two of his films, (A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life), used rotoscoping animation techniques. Working with Bob Sabiston and Sabiston's program Rotoshop to create this effect, Linklater shot and edited both movies completely as live action features, then employed a team of artists to "trace over" individual frames. The result is a distinctive "semi-real" quality, praised by such critics as Roger Ebert (in the case of Waking Life) as being original and well-suited to the aims of the film.

Fast Food Nation (2006) is an adaptation of the best selling book that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry. The film was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival[17] before being released in North America on November 17, 2006 and in Europe on March 23, 2007. After releasing Fast Food Nation to mixed reviews, Linklater returned to form as a critical darling with A Scanner Darkly (released in the same year), 2009's Me and Orson Welles garnering an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 2012's Bernie receiving a 91% rating.[18]

In 2014 he released a film in the making for 12 years titled Boyhood, which received overwhelming critical acclaim. His daughter Lorelei Linklater co-stars in the film as the sister of the central character. For a while Linklater was attached to direct a remake of The Incredible Mr. Limpet for Warner Brothers.[19] In 2014, however, he dropped the project in favor of working on a spiritual successor to Dazed and Confused, titled Everybody Wants Some!!,[19] with backing from Annapurna Pictures and Paramount distributing the film in North America.[20] The film was released in March 2016 and was well received by critics, but it failed to recoup its budget of 10 million dollars, grossing only 4.6 million.[21][22]

In August 2016, it was announced that he will write and direct Last Flag Flying, starring Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Carell. The film is a sequel to Hal Ashby's 1973 film The Last Detail. Filming began in November 2016 and the film is expected to be released on November 3, 2017.[23]

Linklater was attached to direct an adaptation of Graeme Simsion's novel The Rosie Project that would have starred Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role, but Linklater dropped out of directing when Lawrence dropped out of the project.[24] Linklater is attached to direct an adaptation of Maria Semple's novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette, produced by Annapurna Pictures.[25]

Despite the popularity of many of his films and having directed multiple high-paying Hollywood productions, Linklater remains in Austin, Texas and refuses to live or work in Hollywood for any extended period of time. Linklater is known for using the same actors in many of his films including Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Julie Delpy, and Patricia Arquette.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Name Director Writer Producer Actor Role Notes
1988 It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books Yes Yes Yes Yes Unnamed character Also editor and cinematographer
1990 Slacker Yes Yes Yes Yes "Should Have Stayed at the Bus Station"
1993 Dazed and Confused Yes Yes Yes
1995 Before Sunrise Yes Yes
The Underneath Yes Ember Doorman
1996 Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Yes Tour Bus Driver (voice)
SubUrbia Yes
1998 The Newton Boys Yes Yes
Scotch and Milk Yes Cab Passenger
2001 Spy Kids Yes Cool Spy
Chelsea Walls Yes Crony #2
Waking Life Yes Yes Yes Pinball Playing Man / Man on Back of Boat Also cinemtographer
Tape Yes
2003 School of Rock Yes
2004 Before Sunset Yes Yes Yes
2005 Bad News Bears Yes Yes
2006 Fast Food Nation Yes Yes
The Hottest State Yes John Wayne Enthusiast
A Scanner Darkly Yes Yes
2008 Me and Orson Welles Yes Yes
RSO (Registered Sex Offender) Yes Principal Mallard
2011 Bernie Yes Yes Yes Yes
2013 Before Midnight Yes Yes Yes
2014 Boyhood Yes Yes Yes
2015 I Dream Too Much Yes Executive producer
2016 Everybody Wants Some!! Yes Yes Yes
2017 Last Flag Flying Yes Yes
2018 Blaze Yes
2019 Where'd You Go, Bernadette Yes Yes Post-production
TBA Untitled 1969 Moon Landing Film Yes Yes Yes Filming

Other works

Year Name Director Writer Producer Notes
1985 Woodshock Yes short
1991 Heads I Win/Tails You Lose Yes Yes Yes experimental video project
2003 Live from Shiva's Dance Floor Yes short
2004 $5.15/Hr. Yes Yes Yes television pilot
2008 Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach Yes documentary
2012 Up to Speed Yes Yes Yes television series
2016–2018 School of Rock[26] Yes television series; executive producer

Reception

Critical reception

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Slacker85%[27]69[28]
Dazed and Confused94%[29]78[30]
Before Sunrise100%[31]77[32]
SubUrbia64%[33]62[34]
The Newton Boys62%[35]57[36]
Waking Life80%[37]82[38]
Tape78%[39]71[40]
School of Rock92%[41]82[42]
Before Sunset95%[43]90[44]
Bad News Bears48%[45]65[46]
Fast Food Nation50%[47]64[48]
A Scanner Darkly69%[49]73[50]
Me and Orson Welles85%[51]73[52]
Bernie90%[53]75[54]
Before Midnight98%[55]94[56]
Boyhood97%[57]100[58]
Everybody Wants Some!!88%[59]83[60]
Last Flag Flying73%[61]65[62]
Average81%76

Box office

Film Release date Revenue Budget Reference
United States Outside United States Worldwide
Slacker July 27, 1990 $1,228,208 N/A $1,228,208 $23,000 [63]
Dazed and Confused September 24, 1993 $7,993,039 N/A $7,993,039 $6.9 million [64]
Before Sunrise January 27, 1995 $5,535,405 N/A $5,535,405 $2.5 million [65]
SubUrbia February 7, 1997 $656,747 N/A $656,747 N/A [66]
The Newton Boys March 27, 1998 $10,452,012 N/A $10,452,012 $27 million [67]
Waking Life October 19, 2001 $2,901,447 $275,433 $3,176,880 N/A [68]
Tape November 2, 2001 $490,475 $25,425 $515,900 $100,000 [69]
School of Rock October 3, 2003 $81,261,177 $50,021,772 $131,282,949 $35 million [70]
Before Sunset July 2, 2004 $5,820,649 $10,171,966 $15,992,615 $2.7 million [71]
Bad News Bears July 22, 2005 $32,868,349 $1,384,498 $34,252,847 $35 million [72]
A Scanner Darkly July 7, 2006 $5,501,616 $2,158,302 $7,659,918 $8.7 million[73] [74]
Fast Food Nation November 17, 2006 $1,005,539 $1,203,783 $2,209,322 N/A [75]
Me and Orson Welles November 25, 2009 $1,190,003 $1,146,169 $2,336,172 $25 million [76]
Bernie April 27, 2012 $9,206,470 $884,171 $10,090,641 $6 million [77]
Before Midnight May 24, 2013 $8,114,627 $3,061,842 $23,376,973 $3 million[78] [79]
Boyhood July 11, 2014 $25,071,500 $19,143,000 $44,214,500 $4 million [80]
Total $198,132,207 $89,476,361 $287,608,568 $155.923 million

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ↑ http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2003-10-03/180136/
  2. ↑ According to the State of Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997. At Ancestry.com
  3. ↑ "Richard Linklater". Time. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VD5S-BGQ
  5. ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11287806
  6. ↑ Scholastic Inc., Newsroom, AMERICA’S MOST CREATIVE TEENS NAMED AS NATIONAL 2016 SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS RECIPIENTS
  7. ↑ Sam Houston State University Facebook. "Throwing back to the 1980 #SHSU Baseball team in which writer, director and producer Richard Linklater was a member of. #TBT". 6 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Richard Linklater: The director on the humour in Raging Bull, rearing". The Independent. 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  9. ↑ Elder, Robert K. (2011). The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781569768280.
  10. ↑ "10 Films That Had The Biggest Influences On The Films Of Richard Linklater". Taste of Cinema – Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  11. ↑ "Richard Linklater's Top 10". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  12. ↑ Alison Macor. Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids 30 Years of Filmmaking in Austin, Texas University of Texas Press: Austin, 2010.
  13. ↑ Robert Philpot, "Richard Linklater Does ‘Veghood’ for PETA," Star-Telegram, 17 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  15. ↑ Linklater, Richard. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p197. Print.
  16. ↑ "Berlinale: 1995 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
  17. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Fast Food Nation". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  18. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes: Richard Linklater". Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  19. 1 2 Fischer, Russ. "Richard Linklater Leaves 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet' to Focus on 'That's What I'm Talking About'". /Film. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  20. ↑ Patches, Matt (September 30, 2014). "Annapurna to produce Richard Linklater's 'Dazed' spiritual sequel". Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Everybody Wants Some!! Metascore". Metacritic.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) – Weekend Box Office Results". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  23. ↑ Busch, Anita (28 July 2017). "'Last Flag Flying' Moves To Lionsgate And Up A Week On Release Schedule". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  24. ↑ Kit, Borys. "Richard Linklater Follows Jennifer Lawrence Off Sony's 'Rosie Project' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  25. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana; Kit, Borys (February 26, 2015). "Richard Linklater in Talks to Direct 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' (Exclusive)". HollywoodReporter.com. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Nickelodeon Upfront 2016". Nick and More. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  27. ↑ "Slacker Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  28. ↑ "Slacker Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  29. ↑ "Dazed and Confused Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  30. ↑ "Dazed and Confused Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  31. ↑ "Fight Club Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  32. ↑ "Before Sunrise Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  33. ↑ "Panic Room Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  34. ↑ "SubUrbia Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  35. ↑ "The Newton Boys Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  36. ↑ "The Newton Boys Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  37. ↑ "Waking Life Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  38. ↑ "Waking Life Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  39. ↑ "Tape Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  40. ↑ Tape. Metacritic.
  41. ↑ "School of Rock Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  42. ↑ School of Rock. Metacritic.
  43. ↑ "Before Sunset Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  44. ↑ "Before Sunset Reviews – Metacritic". Metacritic.com.
  45. ↑ "Bad News Bears Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  46. ↑ Bad News Bears. Metacritic.
  47. ↑ "Fast Food Nation Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  48. ↑ Fast Food Nation. Metacritic.
  49. ↑ "A Scanner Darkly Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  50. ↑ A Scanner Darkly. Metacritic.
  51. ↑ "Me and Orson Welles Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  52. ↑ Me and Orson Welles. Metacritic.
  53. ↑ "Bernie Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  54. ↑ Bernie. Metacritic.
  55. ↑ "Before Midnight Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  56. ↑ Before Midnight. Metacritic.
  57. ↑ "Boyhood Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  58. ↑ Boyhood. Metacritic.
  59. ↑ "Everybody wants some!!Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  60. ↑ . Metacritic.
  61. ↑ "Last Flag Flying Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes.
  62. ↑ . Metacritic.
  63. ↑ "Slacker (1991)". Box Office Mojo.
  64. ↑ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". Box Office Mojo.
  65. ↑ "Before Sunrise (1995)". Box Office Mojo.
  66. ↑ "SubUrbia (1997)". Box Office Mojo.
  67. ↑ "The Newton Boys (1998)". Box Office Mojo.
  68. ↑ "Waking Life (2001)". Box Office Mojo.
  69. ↑ "Tape (2002)". Box Office Mojo.
  70. ↑ "School of Rock (2003)". Box Office Mojo.
  71. ↑ "Before Sunset (2004)". Box Office Mojo.
  72. ↑ "Bad News Bears (2005)". Box Office Mojo.
  73. ↑ La Franco, Robert (March 2006). "Trouble in Toontown". Wired magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  74. ↑ "A Scanner Darkly (2006)". Box Office Mojo.
  75. ↑ "Fast Food Nation (2006)". Box Office Mojo.
  76. ↑ "Me and Orson Welles (2009)". Box Office Mojo.
  77. ↑ "Bernie (2012)". Box Office Mojo.
  78. ↑ Borrelli, Christopher (May 24, 2013). "Richard Linklater finishes trilogy with 'Before Midnight'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  79. ↑ "Before Midnight (2013)". Box Office Mojo.
  80. ↑ "Boyhood (2014)". Box Office Mojo.
  81. ↑ "Richard Linklater". allmovie.com. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
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