Richard Linklater

Sundance 2014: Lone Star Films and Other Highlights

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Boyhood Still Photo

With 121 feature-length films representing 37 countries screening at the festival between January 16-26, it's been quite a treat putting together this year's "must-see" list at Sundance this year.

A lot of interest is building for Austin Film Society (AFS)-supported films at the fest, but the latest buzz is focused on filmmaker and AFS founder Richard Linklater. Special preview screenings of the anxiously anticipated movie Boyhood, written and directed by Linklater and featuring Ellar Coltrane (seen at top), will take place at this year's festival with a premiere on Sunday, January 19.

Boyhood follows 12 years in the journey of Mason (Coltrane) from childhood into adulthood. He is influenced and supported by his parents, portrayed by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, and his sister Samantha, portrayed by Lorelei Linklater. What makes Boyhood so unique and captivating is that this drama was filmed over several short periods from 2002 to 2013.

'Her' Tops AFCA 2013 Awards

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Before Midnight

The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) not only awarded honors today to 2013 films like Her, 12 Years a Slave and Gravity, but also recognized several films with local and Texas ties.

Her, the latest film from Spike Jonze (which topped my own personal list of the year's best) won't be released in Austin until Jan. 10, but AFCA considered all films that had (or will have) a US release in 2013. Her also won Best Original Screenplay, by Jonze, and Best Score, by Arcade Fire. And AFCA created a special honorary award for Scarlett Johansson to recognize her voice work in the movie.

I've included the press release as well as the full list of awards and the group's Top Ten list below. A few notes about Austin and Lone Star connections:

  • Best Austin Film went to Before Midnight (Elizabeth's review), from local filmmaker Richard Linklater. This is Linklater's fourth Best Austin Film award from AFCA.
  • The Top Ten list includes Mud (Debbie's review) from Austin director Jeff Nichols at #7 and Before Midnight at #8.

A Decade of Rockin' Life Lessons From 'The School of Rock' Reunion

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SOR Premiere (27)

A good part of my day is spent getting schooled, be it from my professors, mother or smart-aleck roommate. Spending another two hours of my life watching the musical development of a group of youngsters on the big screen during Thursday's The School of Rock ten-year reunion at The Paramount (my preview) may not have been the wisest decision, especially because I skipped class (is it still considered skipping when you notify your professors ahead of time?) and have homework due, but it was definitely more fun. 

Some of The School of Rock cast members had similar college woes, like Aleisha Allen, who says she recently graduated from Pace University. Allen played Alicia, one of the band's designated backup singers. Despite a degree in speech pathology and an education minor, the New York native says her musical aspirations haven't waned.

We've Got Tickets (for You) to 'The School of Rock' Reunion

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Bernie red carpet/benefit

Would you like to spend an evening with the two gentlemen above -- Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater and actor Jack Black -- and watch The School of Rock too? Of course you would ... and we're giving away two pairs of tickets to the Austin Film Society-sponsored event. Keep reading.

Linklater, Black, screenwriter/actor Mike White, actress Miranda Cosgrove and other younger cast members from The School of Rock will be at the Paramount next Thursday, August 29 for a special tenth-anniversary screening of the movie. Tickets are available at several levels -- VIP ticketholders also have the chance to attend an afterparty at the Gibson Austin Showroom where the band from the movie will perform.

As if that weren't enough, you can also purchase tickets to a special Moviemaker Dialogue with Mike White, moderated by Kimberley Jones of The Austin Chronicle, on Wednesday, August 28 a the Marchesa. If you're an AFS "Make" or higher-level member, admission is free (although you still want to reserve a ticket online).

ATX Television Fest 2013: Reviving Linklater's '$5.15/Hour'

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America Ferrera

Last weekend, I spent time at the second annual ATX Television Festival, dedicated to celebrating the medium by paying homage to the past, and looking forward to the future of television. One of the highlights of the fest is its category of unaired/never-picked-up pilot episodes. Every year, hundreds of television pilot episodes are created that few if any people will ever get to see. Usually, the pilots into the hands of studio executives, and if they don't like it, those pilots are dead.

Such is the case with Richard Linklater's pilot $5.15/Hr., a comedy show filmed in Austin nearly 10 years ago and pitched to HBO, which was the focus of a panel on Saturday morning. It follows the daily antics of the graveyard or "third shift" of Grammaw's Home Cooking. The employees are crabby, they hate their jobs, they don't make enough money. All of this adds up to the potential for a hilarious premise, but how would it be executed?

The comedy is written for the average everyday worker. While mostly nailing down the dullness and monotony of low-wage food service, many of the situations are applicable to retail work (as I can personally attest). The $5.15/Hr. pilot is smart and incredibly funny with a fantastic cast, with only one semi-household name: America Ferrera (pictured at top), who attended Saturday's screening. Unfortunately, Linklater was unable to attend because he was in Greece promoting Before Midnight.

Review: Before Midnight

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Midnight

Here's hoping you haven't seen the first trailer for Before Midnight, which is basically a big spoiler. There seems to be a shared thought among fans of Richard Linklater's "Before" films that one wants to be surprised when they walk into the theatre and see how Celine and Jesse work out this time. Before I caught the SXSW screening in March, I did read Debbie's review because I was too excited and had to know. That being said, is it possible to review this movie without giving too much away? I will try.

Before Midnight takes place during one long day in Greece. First we see Jesse (Ethan Hawke) at the Kalamata airport, talking to his adolescent son before the kid has to fly back to the States where he lives with his mom. Jesse's face during this scene is periodically pierced with regret, as he wishes his son could stay longer. After Jesse is picked up from the airport, he and Celine (Julie Delpy) talk while driving through Greek countryside -- after the SXSW screening, Linklater noted during his Q&A that this car scene is over 13 minutes long, with no cuts. He also commented that every location they used in Greece was found during a two-day visit.

See All Three Films in Linklater's 'Before' Trilogy

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise, Before Sunset & Before MidnightBefore Before Midnight opens in Austin on May 23, Austin Film Society will host a special screening of all three of Richard Linklater's movies: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and the latest installment.

On Sunday, May 19 at Marchesa Hall & Theatre, you can view the trilogy in order.  See Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meet cute on a train in Before Sunrise (my Lone Star Cinema review), run into each other in a Paris bookstore and have trickier discussions in Before Sunset (my Lone Star Cinema review), and have far more personal talks about life and relationships while ambling around Greece in Before Midnight.

Tickets for either Before Sunrise or Before Sunset are $10 for AFS members or $20 general public.  You can watch all three for $20 (AFS members) or $40 (general public) [more ticket info].

Individual tickets aren't available for the May 19 Before Midnight screening; however, there's a separate special event for the May 23 theatrical premiere of Before Midnight at the Violet Crown Cinema [ticket info]. At the VCC, Linklater, Hawke and Delpy will be in attendance and take part in the pre-screening cocktail party.

During the week between these two festivities, AFS and Ain't It Cool News have teamed up with local restaurants and bars offering special deals and themed specials.  If you go to one of the spots (the list hasn't been released yet) and tweet a photo of you and your sweetie to @afs1985 using the tag #AFSBeforeMidnight, you're eligible to win an AFS dual LOVE level membership.

Lone Star Cinema: Before Sunset

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Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunset

In Richard Linklater's movie Before Sunset (2004), we meet up again with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). Jesse stops in Paris to promote his book, This Time, a fictionalization of the experience he had with Celine in Vienna nine years prior. And who does he spot in Shakespeare & Co. but Celine herself? They decide to have coffee and chat before Jesse has to catch a flight in the evening. The film is something of a real-time depiction of how they spend the next couple of hours.

The naivete of the kids from Before Sunrise is nowhere to be seen here. Jesse and Celine are now in their thirties and have dealt with some blows from life. The rhythm of their conversation flows realistically -- at the start of their time together again somewhat hesitant and impersonal, slowly opening up to show their real selves to each other as the afternoon proceeds. The screenplay from the combined forces of Linklater, Delpy and Hawke is natural and honest. 

I felt like I understood Celine far more clearly in this outing. She gets to say such lines as "Memory's a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past." At one point Celine and Jesse are being driven somewhere and Delpy's character spouts some angry, emotional truths to Jesse. I wanted to give her a high five or fist bump or whatever the cool kids do to signal agreement nowadays.

Celebrate 20 Years of 'Dazed and Confused'

Reunite with Simone, Tony, Cynthia, Jodi, Mitch, Benny, Darla, Sabrina, Cynthia and Tommy for a beer-buzzed existential walk down memory lane. Select Dazed and Confused cast members and writer/director Richard Linklater will celebrate the film's 20th anniversary with two screenings and a Q&A with the cast and crew on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 pm and 9:30 pm at The Marchesa Hall & Theatre (6226 Middle Fiskville Rd) in Austin. General admission and VIP tickets go on sale at noon on Friday for Austin Film Society members, and to the public on Thursday, Feb. 21. VIP tickets include access to a party with the film's stars and preferred seating for the screening with the Q&A. 

The film's anniversary screening and party kicks off the celebration: Linklater and a number of the movie's cast members will accept the Star of Texas award for Dazed and Confused at this year's Texas Film Hall of Fame awards gala the day after the anniversary party (Thursday, March 7).

Dazed and Confused takes place during a time when you could haze and humiliate people without the threat of a lawsuit. Bongs blazed, joints were passed and the keg never seemed to run dry. The times they were a'changin' in 1976, and the characters in Linklater's film weren't immune. Their crazy hijinks and adventures of a group of seniors-to-be and incoming high-school freshman on their last day of school is chronicled in this 1993 retrospective. 

Not since American Graffiti has a coming-of-age comedy had such a unique cast of former nobodies, some of whom will be in attendance at the anniversary screening and party. See you at the moontower. 

Sundance Review: Before Midnight

Before Midnight Still PhotoNot many details were given in last month's announcement that Before Midnight would premiere at Sundance, which left many wondering what the latest episode between Jesse and Celine would entail. So I was interested to see how the movie would fare, the follow-up nine years after Before Sunset and 18 years after Before Sunrise. I am pleased to report that Before Midnight is by far my favorite of this Richard Linklater trilogy.

It's been nine years since Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) were reunited while he was on a book tour, and they now live in Paris with their twin daughters. Although Jesse is a successful writer and Celine still works for an environmental organization, they still have difficulties. Jesse is conflicted by the distance between himself and his son Hank, who resides with Jesse's ex-wife in Chicago. Celine struggles with her own identity, both in her work as well as dealing with fans of Jesse's books who are convinced she is the woman in his stories. While vacationing in Greece with their children, they engage in philosophical conversations about love with both friends and one another.

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