First look notwithstanding, details have been few and far between on Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, largely understood to concern the production of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, making notable a new set report from Les Inrockuptibles. It should’ve been obvious from the jump that America’s premier hangout filmmaker would resurrect cinema’s most-influential group as, well, a group, with Linklater describing his film as (in a somewhat contradictory manner) “the story of a personal revolution in cinema led by one man, and all the people around him,” with the implication of actors playing Jacques Rivette, Éric Rohmer, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Alain Resnais, and Jean Cocteau.
Fittingly, Nouvelle Vague will not start with Zoey Deutch’s Jean Seberg (admittedly odd combination of words) filming on the Champs-Élysées, but at least stretches back to the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, where, upon The 400 Blows‘ triumphant debut, Godard “succeeded in convincing producer...
Fittingly, Nouvelle Vague will not start with Zoey Deutch’s Jean Seberg (admittedly odd combination of words) filming on the Champs-Élysées, but at least stretches back to the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, where, upon The 400 Blows‘ triumphant debut, Godard “succeeded in convincing producer...
- 5/14/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn headline single location drama Daddio, and the first trailer has landed: more here.
It would be fair to say that Dakota Johnson hasn’t had the best month. It began with a press tour that seemed to be doing more harm than good in trying to promote Sony’s Spiderman spin-off Madame Web, in which her comments during the tour generated a huge amount of press. This was swiftly followed by a slew of vitriolic reviews – we gave Madame Web a firm but fair one star.
Still, Johnson has many films in the pipeline, the next one to be released will be single location philosophical drama Daddio. For reference, this is the film Johnson was talking about when she described Hollywood as “heartbreaking” and “fucking bleak” – a conclusion she came to because Daddio took “a lot of fighting to get made.”
At any rate, Daddio...
It would be fair to say that Dakota Johnson hasn’t had the best month. It began with a press tour that seemed to be doing more harm than good in trying to promote Sony’s Spiderman spin-off Madame Web, in which her comments during the tour generated a huge amount of press. This was swiftly followed by a slew of vitriolic reviews – we gave Madame Web a firm but fair one star.
Still, Johnson has many films in the pipeline, the next one to be released will be single location philosophical drama Daddio. For reference, this is the film Johnson was talking about when she described Hollywood as “heartbreaking” and “fucking bleak” – a conclusion she came to because Daddio took “a lot of fighting to get made.”
At any rate, Daddio...
- 2/23/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
When setting out to make his feature directorial debut with Little Death, a surreal genre-bender premiering tonight at Sundance, Jack Begert looked to synthesize “two very powerful influences” — a love of “surreal” cinematic stylings, carried over from his work in high-profile music videos, as well as a much more “grounded, authentic, humanistic” mode of filmmaking.
David Schwimmer in Little Death
Produced by Academy Award nominee Darren Aronofsky for his Protozoa Pictures, the film is visually and, to an extent, tonally reminiscent of the director’s early works, Requiem for a Dream and Pi. A formally experimental feature telling a series of interconnected L.A. stories, which makes memorable use of AI-generated art, as well as visual and practical effects, it hones in on a series of dreamer characters on a darkly comic collision course — a middle-aged filmmaker (David Schwimmer) in the midst of a existential crisis (or breakthrough?), and a...
David Schwimmer in Little Death
Produced by Academy Award nominee Darren Aronofsky for his Protozoa Pictures, the film is visually and, to an extent, tonally reminiscent of the director’s early works, Requiem for a Dream and Pi. A formally experimental feature telling a series of interconnected L.A. stories, which makes memorable use of AI-generated art, as well as visual and practical effects, it hones in on a series of dreamer characters on a darkly comic collision course — a middle-aged filmmaker (David Schwimmer) in the midst of a existential crisis (or breakthrough?), and a...
- 1/19/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Created by Ton Ruegger and overseen by executive producer Steven Spielberg, "Tiny Toon Adventures" debuted in September of 1990, marking a sea change in mainstream TV animation. "Tiny Toons," tapping into 1990s trends toward self-awareness, regularly addressed its own status as a cartoon show, and the characters would frequently give side-eyes to the audience, extract scripts on camera, or even exit their animation cels to cause havoc for the animators. The show's regular obliteration of the fourth wall reflected — and guided — the prevailing winking sarcasm of the 1990s, making it (and I am not exaggerating) a vital and definitive text of the decade. It's no coincidence that it landed the same year as Richard Linklater's "Slacker."
"Tiny Toons" was striking, funny, and launched an entire series of notable Spielberg-backed 1990s cartoons like "Animaniacs," "Histeria!," and "Freakazoid!"
The characters on "Tiny Toons" were largely all distaff "youth" counterparts of established Looney Tunes characters.
"Tiny Toons" was striking, funny, and launched an entire series of notable Spielberg-backed 1990s cartoons like "Animaniacs," "Histeria!," and "Freakazoid!"
The characters on "Tiny Toons" were largely all distaff "youth" counterparts of established Looney Tunes characters.
- 1/7/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
January is one of the biggest months of the year for independent film, with hundreds of film critics descending upon the Sundance Film Festival to discover the works of up-and-coming directors. But for those of us who can’t make the trek to Park City, Utah, there are plenty of independent movies to enjoy from the comfort of our homes.
This month, there’s a particularly big selection of independent classics to choose from on streaming, particularly if you’re subscribed to the Criterion Channel. In celebration of the approaching festival, Criterion is hosting a massive selection of past Sundance favorites, including the 1968 experimental documentary “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One.” Other favorites in the selection include “Blood Simple,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “The Times of Harvey Milk,” “Desert Hearts,” “Working Girls,” “Paris Is Burning,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Slacker,” “Hoop Dreams,” and “The Doom Generation.” Other major indie favorites on the streamer this January include...
This month, there’s a particularly big selection of independent classics to choose from on streaming, particularly if you’re subscribed to the Criterion Channel. In celebration of the approaching festival, Criterion is hosting a massive selection of past Sundance favorites, including the 1968 experimental documentary “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One.” Other favorites in the selection include “Blood Simple,” “Stranger Than Paradise,” “The Times of Harvey Milk,” “Desert Hearts,” “Working Girls,” “Paris Is Burning,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Slacker,” “Hoop Dreams,” and “The Doom Generation.” Other major indie favorites on the streamer this January include...
- 1/6/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Jack Black admitted in Rolling Stone’s new oral history of “School of Rock” that he was nervous to act opposite a bunch of children in Richard Linklater’s hit comedy. The film, written by “The White Lotus” creator Mike White, cast Black as Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck guitarist who puts together a makeshift band of kid musicians while substitute teaching at a prep school.
“In retrospect, it seems ridiculous [to be nervous], because I’m such an immature idiot that it was a perfect match to be with a bunch of kids,” Black said. “We had a blast — horsing around and making jokes and making fart noises in between takes.”
Cast member Jordan-Claire Green, who played “groupie” Michelle, was just a kid on the set and remembered Black accidentally cursing around his much younger co-stars.
“The only time I ever saw him get nervous was one night we were on set, and he said a cuss word,...
“In retrospect, it seems ridiculous [to be nervous], because I’m such an immature idiot that it was a perfect match to be with a bunch of kids,” Black said. “We had a blast — horsing around and making jokes and making fart noises in between takes.”
Cast member Jordan-Claire Green, who played “groupie” Michelle, was just a kid on the set and remembered Black accidentally cursing around his much younger co-stars.
“The only time I ever saw him get nervous was one night we were on set, and he said a cuss word,...
- 9/29/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
A director who has seen the sunrise and sunset of independent filmmaking many times over, Richard Linklater has some thoughts on where the industry is today. And if you haven’t guessed by now, it’s not terribly hopeful…
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Richard Linklater said the era he came up in – that is, the early ‘90s – could never be duplicated in today’s market. “It feels like it’s gone with the wind — or gone with the algorithm. Sometimes I’ll talk to some of my contemporaries who I came up with during the 1990s, and we’ll go, ‘Oh my God, we could never get that done today.’ So, on the one hand, selfishly, you think, ‘I guess I was born at the right time. I was able to participate in what always feels like the last good era for filmmaking.’”
Richard Linklater went on to brood...
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Richard Linklater said the era he came up in – that is, the early ‘90s – could never be duplicated in today’s market. “It feels like it’s gone with the wind — or gone with the algorithm. Sometimes I’ll talk to some of my contemporaries who I came up with during the 1990s, and we’ll go, ‘Oh my God, we could never get that done today.’ So, on the one hand, selfishly, you think, ‘I guess I was born at the right time. I was able to participate in what always feels like the last good era for filmmaking.’”
Richard Linklater went on to brood...
- 9/11/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Is it something in the air? At this year’s Venice Film Festival, the unofficial theme appears to be hit men. David Fincher’s “The Killer” is all about an icy methodical professional executioner. Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance” turns on an act of murder-for-hire. And now, just in time to steal the buzz from both those movies, we have Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” a screwball philosophical thriller comedy noir about the world’s unlikeliest undercover agent. He’s a one-of-a-kind movie hero, though in more ways than not he’s just like us.
The movie, which is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article, tells the tale of Gary Johnson, a part-time college teacher who works for the New Orleans Police Department as a tech consultant, helping to make recordings of sting operations. Then he’s tapped to go undercover himself. Why would this even happen? The film...
The movie, which is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article, tells the tale of Gary Johnson, a part-time college teacher who works for the New Orleans Police Department as a tech consultant, helping to make recordings of sting operations. Then he’s tapped to go undercover himself. Why would this even happen? The film...
- 9/5/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
On a recent day at the beach, actress Nikki Reed was basking in the California sun when a 15-year-old girl approached her. “I would love to take a picture with you!” the young fan exclaimed. Her interest in Reed, however, had nothing to do with her role as vampire Rosalie Hale in the mega-popular Twilight movies.
“Thirteen is my favorite film in the world,” the teenager said. “It actually inspired me to want to write and I already wrote my first screenplay.”
Although she’d long been conscious of the...
“Thirteen is my favorite film in the world,” the teenager said. “It actually inspired me to want to write and I already wrote my first screenplay.”
Although she’d long been conscious of the...
- 8/28/2023
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Rollingstone.com
For many, Kevin Smith is a filmmaker who once upon a time made great movies while others have stuck by his side through thick and thin. With the well-reviewed Clerks III wrapping up the story 30 years in the making, it is time we take a look back at one of the most iconic careers in independent film history and we find out just Wtf Happened to Kevin Smith.
But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began for Kevin Smith on August 2, 1970 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Smith has said that seeing his father struggle with his job working at the post office made him vow to never work a job that he hated, but never really thought there was a future for someone like him in the film industry despite his love for movies. Smith would make friends with people such as future Comic Book...
But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began for Kevin Smith on August 2, 1970 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Smith has said that seeing his father struggle with his job working at the post office made him vow to never work a job that he hated, but never really thought there was a future for someone like him in the film industry despite his love for movies. Smith would make friends with people such as future Comic Book...
- 8/18/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
The Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor and star of Richard Linklater’s 1991 Gen X classic “Slacker,” died this weekend, the band announced on Twitter on Monday.
“Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend,” the notice on Twitter read.
Taylor, also billed as Teresa Nervosa, joined the band in 1983, but left in 1989 after experiencing light-induced seizures that were due to a brain aneurysm, according to Pitchfork. In 1993, she underwent brain surgery, which allowed her to perform again.
Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.
Pictured here with Mark Farner. Photo by @PatBlashill #TeresaTaylor #TeresaNervosa pic.twitter.com/Mn74aqzeK1
— Butthole Surfers (@buttholesurfers) June 19, 2023
In 1991, she appeared in a small role in Richard Linklater’s breakthrough film “Slacker,...
“Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend,” the notice on Twitter read.
Taylor, also billed as Teresa Nervosa, joined the band in 1983, but left in 1989 after experiencing light-induced seizures that were due to a brain aneurysm, according to Pitchfork. In 1993, she underwent brain surgery, which allowed her to perform again.
Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.
Pictured here with Mark Farner. Photo by @PatBlashill #TeresaTaylor #TeresaNervosa pic.twitter.com/Mn74aqzeK1
— Butthole Surfers (@buttholesurfers) June 19, 2023
In 1991, she appeared in a small role in Richard Linklater’s breakthrough film “Slacker,...
- 6/19/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Teresa Taylor, a drummer for the indie rock band Butthole Surfers who had a small but memorable role in the 1990 film Slacker as a “pusher” trying to sell an unusual Madonna souvenir, died Sunday of lung disease, her former bandmates have announced.
Taylor, who sometimes used the stage name Teresa Nervosa, “passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease,” the Butthole Surfers tweeted today. “She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.”
Born in Arlington, Texas, Taylor played drums in her high school marching band alongside fellow percussionist King Coffey. After joining the San Antonio-based rock band, Coffey recruited his friend Taylor to join. The two drummers would perform in unison, often standing up, giving the band its early signature sound and visual style.
Taylor left the band in 1989 after experiencing seizures caused by a brain aneurysm. She underwent brain surgery in 1993. The group had an infectious No.
Taylor, who sometimes used the stage name Teresa Nervosa, “passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease,” the Butthole Surfers tweeted today. “She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.”
Born in Arlington, Texas, Taylor played drums in her high school marching band alongside fellow percussionist King Coffey. After joining the San Antonio-based rock band, Coffey recruited his friend Taylor to join. The two drummers would perform in unison, often standing up, giving the band its early signature sound and visual style.
Taylor left the band in 1989 after experiencing seizures caused by a brain aneurysm. She underwent brain surgery in 1993. The group had an infectious No.
- 6/19/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Teresa Taylor, a longtime drummer for the psych-punk band Butthole Surfers, has died.
The news about Taylor — also known as “Teresa Nervosa” — was shared by the band Monday on Twitter: “Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend,” they wrote. “She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.”
Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.
Pictured here with Mark Farner. Photo by @PatBlashill #TeresaTaylor #TeresaNervosa pic.twitter.com/Mn74aqzeK1
— Butthole Surfers...
The news about Taylor — also known as “Teresa Nervosa” — was shared by the band Monday on Twitter: “Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend,” they wrote. “She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.”
Teresa Taylor passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease. She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend.
Pictured here with Mark Farner. Photo by @PatBlashill #TeresaTaylor #TeresaNervosa pic.twitter.com/Mn74aqzeK1
— Butthole Surfers...
- 6/19/2023
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
Teresa Taylor (née Nervosa), a former drummer in Butthole Surfers, has died following a battle with lung disease.
Taylor’s partner, Cheryl Curtice, announced her passing on Facebook on Monday, June 19th. “Dear friends and loved ones of Teresa Taylor. I want to let you know the sad news. Teresa passed away clean and sober, peacefully in her sleep, this weekend,” Curtice wrote. “She was so brave, even in the face of her horrible disease. We were all fortunate to have her beautiful, strong spirit in our lives. She will be forever missed. We will have a memorial service sometime in the future. I love you, beloved Teresa.”
“She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend,” Butthole Surfers wrote in a tribute posted to their own Facebook page.
Along with King Coffey, Taylor was a drummer in Butthole Surfers from 1983 to 1989, appearing on albums including Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac,...
Taylor’s partner, Cheryl Curtice, announced her passing on Facebook on Monday, June 19th. “Dear friends and loved ones of Teresa Taylor. I want to let you know the sad news. Teresa passed away clean and sober, peacefully in her sleep, this weekend,” Curtice wrote. “She was so brave, even in the face of her horrible disease. We were all fortunate to have her beautiful, strong spirit in our lives. She will be forever missed. We will have a memorial service sometime in the future. I love you, beloved Teresa.”
“She will live in our hearts forever. Rip, dear friend,” Butthole Surfers wrote in a tribute posted to their own Facebook page.
Along with King Coffey, Taylor was a drummer in Butthole Surfers from 1983 to 1989, appearing on albums including Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac,...
- 6/19/2023
- by Scoop Harrison
- Consequence - Music
Richard Linklater has thought about making a ‘Boyhood’ sequel that starts when its lead character is 30.The ‘Before Sunrise’ director, 62, famously filmed the epic coming-of-age tale featuring Ellar Coltrane as Mason Evans Jr over the course of 12 years from 2002 to 2013, and said the six-time Oscar winning project still “breathes” for him.He told Empire magazine in an interview to mark the Arrow Video release of the film when asked if there could be a follow-up: “There were things we could have done – it just hasn’t really grabbed.“For all we know, we could just jump in at age 30 or something. Who the hell knows?”But Linklater, also famed for his indie film ‘Slacker’ and ‘Dazed and Confused’, said he already knows what happens to Ethan’s character next as it’s been charted in his series of films about college and his ‘Before’ trilogy about the youthful hunt for love,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Aaron Tinney
- Bang Showbiz
“Where were you in ’76?” The newest entrant in Criterion’s 4K disc club is Richard Linklater’s rowdy but affectionate ode to high school nostalgia, Texas-style. It’s a Bicentennial summer update of American Graffiti and in just 14 years the entire face of America has changed. Youth idealism is dead and the main rule is to avoid plans made by parents. Linklater’s graduation night sticks with kids free to roam on their own and have a wild time. He has a terrific way with performances that include a string of memorable faces that became much better-known, plus a couple of future stars.
Dazed and Confused 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 336
1993 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 21, 2023 / 39.96
Starring: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson, Michelle Burke, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Matthew McConaughey, Marissa Ribisi, Shawn Andrews, Cole Hauser, Milla Jovovich,...
Dazed and Confused 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 336
1993 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 21, 2023 / 39.96
Starring: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson, Michelle Burke, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Matthew McConaughey, Marissa Ribisi, Shawn Andrews, Cole Hauser, Milla Jovovich,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
For Clay, the man at the center of The Civil Dead, there isn’t much happening in life. Portrayed by director and co-writer Clay Tatum, he’s an unemployed LA photographer whose only friend appears to be his wife Whitney (Whitney Weir). When she leaves for several days on a work trip, she asks him to be productive and not just drink beer in the living room. Of course Clay does just that, and in a desperate attempt to get quick cash he pretends to put their apartment up for rent so he can collect application fees from hopeful renters. At first glance he’s a schlubby jerk (with a terrible haircut to boot), but his self-awareness and dry wit makes him affable, even if he’s content to do whatever it takes to avoid doing anything.
That harebrained scheme to steal from apartment-seekers amounts to a lot of set-up...
That harebrained scheme to steal from apartment-seekers amounts to a lot of set-up...
- 2/2/2023
- by C.J. Prince
- The Film Stage
In the nineties, director Allan Moyle accomplished the rare feat of making two movies that wound up being considered cult classics. At the start of the decade, "Pump Up the Volume" starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis used pirate radio and a killer soundtrack to take down a corrupt high school. In 1995, "Empire Records" took down big business by saving the local record store with a last-minute fundraiser put on by a motley crew of Gen X outcasts. 20 years after "Empire Records" was released to little fanfare, it has become something of a social phenomenon with legions of fans who celebrate Rex Manning day every year on April 8 (the film is set on the same day).
Richard Linklater's "Slacker" and Moyle's "Pump Up the Volume" captured the malaise of the slacker generation on film, an era that culminated with Stephen Frears' "High Fidelity" starring John Cusack in 2000. Nestled perfectly...
Richard Linklater's "Slacker" and Moyle's "Pump Up the Volume" captured the malaise of the slacker generation on film, an era that culminated with Stephen Frears' "High Fidelity" starring John Cusack in 2000. Nestled perfectly...
- 1/29/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
It's difficult to overstate the immediate and overwhelming effect that Wes Craven's 1996 film "Scream" had on pop culture. By the mid-1990s the slasher genre had pretty much come to an end. The most popular monsters of the 1980s were being deliberately killed off, as "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" and "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" seemingly closed the door on their respective franchises. The slasher series that continued started to die of fatigue, as seen in clunky, underwhelming films like "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" and "Hellraiser: Bloodline."
Then, in December of '96, "Scream" came out and a new trend was immediately born. The Kevin Williamson-scripted "Scream" was a slasher movie, yes, but it was populated by teenage characters who all knew -- and spoke openly about -- the tropes of slasher movies. Everyone was wry, sarcastic, and understood the metafictional situation they occupied.
Then, in December of '96, "Scream" came out and a new trend was immediately born. The Kevin Williamson-scripted "Scream" was a slasher movie, yes, but it was populated by teenage characters who all knew -- and spoke openly about -- the tropes of slasher movies. Everyone was wry, sarcastic, and understood the metafictional situation they occupied.
- 1/27/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
A film that rewards patience, The Tuba Thieves, despite its title, is not a quirky heist picture but rather a meditation on the presence and absence of sound framed by both recent and further-removed history. It’s directed by d/Deaf visual artist Alison O’Daniel, who crafts a rich visual and auditory project that’s probably best experienced in an acoustically perfect environment. One might at least need a high-end pair of noise-canceling headphones to simulate the optimal screening venue. Open-captioned by default, The Tuba Thieves is an immersive journey that perhaps approximates the trials of limited hearing with a structure that is either a cinematic meditation or frustrating for those seeking to impose some sense of order over the raw material we’re presented.
Often defying convention, we’re initially told the genesis of the film is a year-spanning string of instrument heists at LA high schools that very likely aren’t related.
Often defying convention, we’re initially told the genesis of the film is a year-spanning string of instrument heists at LA high schools that very likely aren’t related.
- 1/26/2023
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Independent movies have been a thing for just about as long as movies have been a popular form of entertainment. But there was a point in the '90s when major studios realized that indie movies could also be good business, and Miramax was at the cutting edge of that movement, acquiring a string of films out of the festival circuit and turning them into hits. Miramax, founded by Bob Weinstein and the since-disgraced Harvey Weinstein (who is currently in prison), was so successful that Disney ended up buying the company in 1993.
Miramax wanted to prove that it could still do what it had always done despite being owned by the Mouse House. So, in 1994, the studio went to Sundance and went on a spending spree. Most notably, it acquired Quentin Tarantino's all-time classic "Pulp Fiction," which went on to become a gigantic hit and perhaps one of the...
Miramax wanted to prove that it could still do what it had always done despite being owned by the Mouse House. So, in 1994, the studio went to Sundance and went on a spending spree. Most notably, it acquired Quentin Tarantino's all-time classic "Pulp Fiction," which went on to become a gigantic hit and perhaps one of the...
- 9/17/2022
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Jean-Luc Godard passed away on September 13, 2022 at the age of 91. In a vast and prolific career that spanned seven decades Godard never once shied away from confrontation. Godard was a film brat of the highest order, who used his early New Wave films as a playful, somewhat bitter commentary on the insidious infiltration of cinematic images into our minds. His most celebrated film, "Breathless" (1960), takes place in a world where characters have internalized an ineffable sense of "cool" they learned directly from American movies; in one scene, Jean-Paul Belmondo, sporting a fedora and cigarette, spends a moment to look at a headshot of Humphrey Bogart, a photo he seems to regard like a mirror.
Much hay has been made by talented and insightful essayists over the impact Godard has had on modern filmmaking. He made movies about people who lived in movies. He was of a generation of French filmmakers...
Much hay has been made by talented and insightful essayists over the impact Godard has had on modern filmmaking. He made movies about people who lived in movies. He was of a generation of French filmmakers...
- 9/13/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Twenty-eight years after Kevin Smith made his film debut with the foul-mouthed low-budget comedy "Clerks" and 16 years after the sweet and silly sequel, "Clerks II," the director returns to the Quick Stop to bring the story full circle in "Clerks III." Clerks Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) own the convenience store that brought them together, but they aren't sure if they've achieved their dreams or just fallen into their same old routines. Then Randal has a heart attack and realizes life is too short to waste, so he wants to make a movie.
This is Smith at his most deeply personal: Randal's heart attack is clearly based on Smith's own, and the creation of his film at the Quick Stop is a metacommentary on the making of the first "Clerks." Fans in search of the mile-a-minute crass comedy of some of his earlier work, including the...
This is Smith at his most deeply personal: Randal's heart attack is clearly based on Smith's own, and the creation of his film at the Quick Stop is a metacommentary on the making of the first "Clerks." Fans in search of the mile-a-minute crass comedy of some of his earlier work, including the...
- 9/8/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
For as long as there has been independent cinema, there have been protagonists who aren’t quite ready for adulthood. From “Slacker” to “Frances Ha” to approximately 78 percent of rejected Sundance submissions in any given year, there’s a time honored tradition of filmmakers finding inspiration in those looking to squeeze a few more years out of their adolescence.
But with each passing film about an artsy type who can’t get their shit together, the pressure on the next filmmaker to justify the existence of their belated coming-of-age story increases. When your audience has seen these tropes as often as we have, you have to offer something more than “wow, turns out adulting is really hard!” Unfortunately, “Adopting Audrey” falls short of that standard. M. Cahill’s new film about a woman who puts herself up for adoption in her early thirties is The result is a drab retreading...
But with each passing film about an artsy type who can’t get their shit together, the pressure on the next filmmaker to justify the existence of their belated coming-of-age story increases. When your audience has seen these tropes as often as we have, you have to offer something more than “wow, turns out adulting is really hard!” Unfortunately, “Adopting Audrey” falls short of that standard. M. Cahill’s new film about a woman who puts herself up for adoption in her early thirties is The result is a drab retreading...
- 8/26/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
In-person and virtual meetings set for September.
New work from Venice Horizons 2019 best director Théo Court and Australian filmmaker Darlene Johnson are among 142 international and US titles selected for the 2022 Gotham Week Project Market.
In-person Project Market industry meetings with distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents and other potential collaborators are set for September 19-21, while virtual meetings take place from September 22-23.
The Gotham Week Conference exploring the art and business of film and media returns and programming highlights include the inaugural Gotham Week Expo, which will bring together partners from The Gotham’s Expanding Communities,...
New work from Venice Horizons 2019 best director Théo Court and Australian filmmaker Darlene Johnson are among 142 international and US titles selected for the 2022 Gotham Week Project Market.
In-person Project Market industry meetings with distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents and other potential collaborators are set for September 19-21, while virtual meetings take place from September 22-23.
The Gotham Week Conference exploring the art and business of film and media returns and programming highlights include the inaugural Gotham Week Expo, which will bring together partners from The Gotham’s Expanding Communities,...
- 8/1/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
In-person and virtual meetings set for September.
New work from Venice Horizons 2019 best director Théo Court and Australian filmmaker Darlene Johnson are among 142 international and US titles selected for the 2022 Gotham Week Project Market.
In-person Project Market industry meetings with distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents and other potential collaborators are set for September 19-21, while virtual meetings take place from September 22-23.
The Gotham Week Conference exploring the art and business of film and media returns and programming highlights include the inaugural Gotham Week Expo, which will bring together partners from The Gotham’s Expanding Communities,...
New work from Venice Horizons 2019 best director Théo Court and Australian filmmaker Darlene Johnson are among 142 international and US titles selected for the 2022 Gotham Week Project Market.
In-person Project Market industry meetings with distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents and other potential collaborators are set for September 19-21, while virtual meetings take place from September 22-23.
The Gotham Week Conference exploring the art and business of film and media returns and programming highlights include the inaugural Gotham Week Expo, which will bring together partners from The Gotham’s Expanding Communities,...
- 8/1/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
There was a party at the moon tower, but Richard Linklater got stuck with the bill. Or at least that’s how it felt to the Austin-based writer-director, one of the principal architects of the American independent movement whose work has launched a string of A-list careers.
The creator of Hollywood hits like “School of Rock” and “The Bad News Bears” remake, as well as laid-back prestige enterprises like “Slacker,” “Waking Life,” and the “Before” trilogy, spoke to The Daily Beast while promoting his latest, Netflix’s nostalgia-rich animated delight “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood.” When the topic of the 1993 classic “Dazed and Confused” came up, it clearly touched a nerve.
“Where’s my money?” he asked. “How come a movie that cost less than 7 million has 12 million in interest against it?”
In addition to giving us a string of quotable lines, “Dazed and Confused” was the ostensible screen debut for Matthew McConaughey,...
The creator of Hollywood hits like “School of Rock” and “The Bad News Bears” remake, as well as laid-back prestige enterprises like “Slacker,” “Waking Life,” and the “Before” trilogy, spoke to The Daily Beast while promoting his latest, Netflix’s nostalgia-rich animated delight “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood.” When the topic of the 1993 classic “Dazed and Confused” came up, it clearly touched a nerve.
“Where’s my money?” he asked. “How come a movie that cost less than 7 million has 12 million in interest against it?”
In addition to giving us a string of quotable lines, “Dazed and Confused” was the ostensible screen debut for Matthew McConaughey,...
- 4/6/2022
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
“Dazed and Confused” is one of the defining American independent films of the 1990s and one of the most beloved cult classics of all time, but it turns out the film’s enduring legacy has never resulted in money for writer-director Richard Linklater. The filmmaker was recently asked by The Daily Beast if he made money off “Dazed and Confused,” to which he responded, “Fuck no!”
“It’s like… where’s my money?” Linklater asked. “How come a movie that cost less than 7 million has 12 million in interest against it?”
When asked how “Dazed and Confused” can be a cult hit for nearly three decades and counting and not make money for him, Linklater responded, “I don’t know. Ask Universal! Hollywood accounting. I remember really asking for a piece of the soundtrack, because I picked all the songs, and they were like, ‘Oh no…First film, you know?’ N.
“It’s like… where’s my money?” Linklater asked. “How come a movie that cost less than 7 million has 12 million in interest against it?”
When asked how “Dazed and Confused” can be a cult hit for nearly three decades and counting and not make money for him, Linklater responded, “I don’t know. Ask Universal! Hollywood accounting. I remember really asking for a piece of the soundtrack, because I picked all the songs, and they were like, ‘Oh no…First film, you know?’ N.
- 4/5/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
This review of “Apollo 10 1/2” was first published on March 13, after its screening at SXSW.
Richard Linklater digs into his own salad days for “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,” an animated feature that fondly recalls the NASA moment in a way that’s more reminiscent of “Amarcord” or “Crooklyn” than of “First Man.”
As a kid who was born in 1960 and grew up in the suburbs of Houston, like the film’s young hero, Linklater had a front-row seat to the race to the moon. In this delightfully evocative exercise in nostalgia, he captures the way that children will remember historic events in the context of what else was on TV, which siblings got to sit on the couch, and how your favorite song made you feel.
The story here is ostensibly about young Stan (voiced by Milo Coy), a schoolboy recruited by NASA (because of his...
Richard Linklater digs into his own salad days for “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,” an animated feature that fondly recalls the NASA moment in a way that’s more reminiscent of “Amarcord” or “Crooklyn” than of “First Man.”
As a kid who was born in 1960 and grew up in the suburbs of Houston, like the film’s young hero, Linklater had a front-row seat to the race to the moon. In this delightfully evocative exercise in nostalgia, he captures the way that children will remember historic events in the context of what else was on TV, which siblings got to sit on the couch, and how your favorite song made you feel.
The story here is ostensibly about young Stan (voiced by Milo Coy), a schoolboy recruited by NASA (because of his...
- 4/1/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
It’s another giant week of television, with many movies and TV sharing an overlapping space theme – Marvel Studios’ “Moon Knight” is about a superhero (Oscar Isaac) who transforms under the cover of darkness; Richard Linklater returns to his youth (and the initial United States space program) in “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood;” and “Moonshot” features a YA romance that plays out via a voyage to the red planet.
On with the television! To infinity and beyond!
Marvel Studios
“Moon Knight”
Wednesday, March 30, Disney+
Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ original series (its sixth) is a relatively deep cut character – Marc Spector (played by Oscar Isaac), a man who, depending on the comic book run, is truly inhabited by a deity from ancient Egypt or just deeply unhinged mentally. We are introduced to Spector via one of his alter egos, sheepish British museum employee Steven Grant (Isaac goes full Dick-Van-Dyke-in-“Mary...
On with the television! To infinity and beyond!
Marvel Studios
“Moon Knight”
Wednesday, March 30, Disney+
Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ original series (its sixth) is a relatively deep cut character – Marc Spector (played by Oscar Isaac), a man who, depending on the comic book run, is truly inhabited by a deity from ancient Egypt or just deeply unhinged mentally. We are introduced to Spector via one of his alter egos, sheepish British museum employee Steven Grant (Isaac goes full Dick-Van-Dyke-in-“Mary...
- 3/25/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Barely over two years ago, the Den of Geek staff was mere days away from heading to Austin when the inevitable happened: SXSW and all its strange and glorious intersections of film, music, technology, games, and more was canceled due to the then only dawning Covid-19 pandemic. A virtual alternative eventually went forward some months later, and there was a virtual SXSW in 2021 as well, but to concede things haven’t been the same in Austin is an understatement.
Which is perhaps why nearly every face, and every person we spoke with, over the last several weeks in the Texas state capital seemed to have an incorrigible grin on their face. Be they fans or filmmakers, actors or music artists, or even just folks walking down the street, the thrill and good vibes was everywhere. SXSW is back where it once belonged.
During that time, we were able to get...
Which is perhaps why nearly every face, and every person we spoke with, over the last several weeks in the Texas state capital seemed to have an incorrigible grin on their face. Be they fans or filmmakers, actors or music artists, or even just folks walking down the street, the thrill and good vibes was everywhere. SXSW is back where it once belonged.
During that time, we were able to get...
- 3/22/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
From Los Angeles to Austin, and Mexico to the UK, there appears to be something in the water sipped on by major directors. How else do you explain so many respected auteurs getting nostalgic for their formative years, be it Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma or Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast—Spielberg even has one out later this year. Yet Richard Linklater’s newest entry in the emerging genre, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, might be the most happily youthful of these to date. For here is a reverie that’s less concerned about how things really occurred than it is with capturing the exuberance of how they’re remembered.
With a dream logic that doesn’t bother to distinguish the facts from fiction, the reality from the flights of fancy, Linklater revisits his halcyon days by recollecting the simple joys (and tedium) that come with being a boy during a specific moment in history.
With a dream logic that doesn’t bother to distinguish the facts from fiction, the reality from the flights of fancy, Linklater revisits his halcyon days by recollecting the simple joys (and tedium) that come with being a boy during a specific moment in history.
- 3/14/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
“Can I be Mr. Camouflage?” A young punk asks his friends in the closing moments of the “Reservation Dogs” pilot, helmed by Oscar-winning writer/director Taika Waititi. Though its title portends homage to a certain mixed-tape filmmaker, FX’s newest half-hour comedy is more in line with the rebellious spirit of Richard Linklater’s indie 90s flicks.
Continue reading ‘Reservation Dogs’: Taika Waititi Introduces An Indigenous Slacker Community Full Of Rebel SmartPhone Punks [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Reservation Dogs’: Taika Waititi Introduces An Indigenous Slacker Community Full Of Rebel SmartPhone Punks [Review] at The Playlist.
- 7/29/2021
- by Andrew Bundy
- The Playlist
What would a show about teens be without at least one hormone- and drug-fueled rager?
In the season finale of HBO Max’s Generation (now available to stream, Spoilers ahead!), a party at Riley’s house turned into a tornado of alcohol and emotions. Not only was there a break-up (Chester and Bo!) and a make-up (Riley and Greta!!), but the cliffhangers were aplenty, as Riley stopped just short of admitting her hotel hookup to Greta, and later, a mysterious suitor arrived to cheer up a brokenhearted Chester. (Any idea of who it might be? Drop your thoughts in the Comments!
In the season finale of HBO Max’s Generation (now available to stream, Spoilers ahead!), a party at Riley’s house turned into a tornado of alcohol and emotions. Not only was there a break-up (Chester and Bo!) and a make-up (Riley and Greta!!), but the cliffhangers were aplenty, as Riley stopped just short of admitting her hotel hookup to Greta, and later, a mysterious suitor arrived to cheer up a brokenhearted Chester. (Any idea of who it might be? Drop your thoughts in the Comments!
- 7/9/2021
- by Nick Caruso
- TVLine.com
Narrative-averse portmanteau films are a tough nut to crack, yet not impossible. Richard Linklater made a name for himself in 1990 by hovering over a collection of Austin 20-somethings doing nothing in particular with “Slacker,” and it is this template that director Elisabeth Vogler seems to be following with her newest feature, “Roaring 20’s.” Yet where “Slacker” and others like it stitch their characters and segments together with common themes and recurring motifs, “Roaring 20’s” fails to connect its many dots, binding itself instead with a cinematography gimmick and little else.
Continue reading ‘Roaring 20’s’ Manages Little More Than a Purr, Failing to Stitch Together Anthology Set-Pieces Into Something More [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Roaring 20’s’ Manages Little More Than a Purr, Failing to Stitch Together Anthology Set-Pieces Into Something More [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.
- 6/13/2021
- by Warren Cantrell
- The Playlist
In 1992 a young man from New Jersey, US, traveled to Vancouver, Canada to study film and pursue his dream. Since he was little, his father instilled in him a love for movies. Then a particular film, Richard Linklater's Slacker, changed his life, because it convinced him that he could make his own films with few resources. Kevin Smith's name was introduced to the world of cinema at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. Withouth having completed his film studies, Smith wrote his first script, Clerks, which he filmed mainly in a New Jersey convenience store, where the newcomer filmmaker worked. With memorable and hilarious elements, Clerks wowed critics and was vital to the next generation: if Slacker influenced Smth, Clerks did the same for...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/22/2021
- Screen Anarchy
"More often than not, a hero’s most epic battle is the one you never see; it’s the battle that goes on within him or herself." Love him or hate him, Kevin Smith is a fascinating guy and iconic filmmaker. Love him or hate him, he has made 13 movies (so far), created a podcast empire, and cemented himself in pop culture history as a famous fanboy. Like many of us, he started as a film lover. He always wanted to be a storyteller, but had no idea if he could ever be successful. After seeing Linklater's Slacker, off he went to the Vancouver Film School in the 1990s, where he met producer / filmmaker Scott Mosier, and the rest is history. Malcolm Ingram's new documentary Clerk, which just premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, take us through Smith's entire life, examining his legacy and many accomplishments – both as a filmmaker and as a person.
- 3/19/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Thirty years ago, R.E.M. dropped an album called Out of Time — and nobody was prepared for it. “Losing My Religion,” “Half a World Away,” “Country Feedback,” “Near Wild Heaven” — these were the most soulful, gorgeous songs the boys from Athens G-a had ever written. This comeback changed everything about the R.E.M. story, but it also presaged the whole decade to come. They basically invented the Nineties with this album. It was a total shock, after a few years when they sounded like bored rock pros going through the motions.
- 3/12/2021
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Olivier Godin's short film, Dracula Sex Tape, is a 5-minute burst of high-energy dialogue and smoking. It is like inhaling Richard Linklater's Slacker, in a single intense drag that leaves one light-headed and satisfied simultaneously. The short, which debuted at Woche der Kritik 2021 this week, offers an excellent lesson in taking a frame-capture and making it a poster, simply by turning it sideways. Et voilà: A compelling piece of key art. A contemplative woman enjoys a cigarette. A figure is seen walking away in the distance. Was it something that figure said or did? Negative space abounds on a cold winter's day in Quebec. The title card is mid-poster, in a skinny lower-case 'typewriter typeset,' that matches the woman's lone visible earring, as she glances outside...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/5/2021
- Screen Anarchy
It’s a bold move to follow up a festival favorite indie film from a couple of years back with a Los Angeles-set series of vignettes punctuated by poetry. Such is the case with director Carlos López Estrada’s sophomore effort Summertime. The young filmmaker turned heads with the provocative Blindspotting at Sundance 2018. He aims at something similar here, though with a decidedly different spin.
Set in Los Angeles, the film takes place over one long summer day as twenty-five separate young people quite literally wax poetic about their hopes, dreams, fears, and passions. A bit cringe-inducing at the start, all involved find their stride quickly enough. In one particular scene–a poetry battle set in a couple’s therapy session–Summertime gets lighter and a bit more engaging.
Similarly, the film charts the rise of a hip-hop duo called Anewbyss (Bryce Banks) and Rah (Austin Antoine) to some breezy comic effect.
Set in Los Angeles, the film takes place over one long summer day as twenty-five separate young people quite literally wax poetic about their hopes, dreams, fears, and passions. A bit cringe-inducing at the start, all involved find their stride quickly enough. In one particular scene–a poetry battle set in a couple’s therapy session–Summertime gets lighter and a bit more engaging.
Similarly, the film charts the rise of a hip-hop duo called Anewbyss (Bryce Banks) and Rah (Austin Antoine) to some breezy comic effect.
- 1/24/2020
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
“Use your words.” I remember one of my sheroes saying that to a stammering 4-year-old decades ago. Here was a woman who’d dedicated her life to preschool education, whom I assisted for several summers, trying to get through to a tongue-tied little boy. The more he sputtered, the more upset he got, unable to express what was frustrating him. That’s not unusual with young children, but his teacher knew just how to handle the situation, calmly telling the child to channel his emotions into language, so the rest of us might understand.
That simple life lesson — that one can’t properly address a problem until it’s been put into words — resurfaced for me watching “Summertime,” an upbeat, feature-length poetry slam that just might be the most inspirational movie to hit the indie circuit this year. A lo-fi, high-ingenuity collaborative endeavor between “Blindspotting” director Carlos Lopéz Estrada and...
That simple life lesson — that one can’t properly address a problem until it’s been put into words — resurfaced for me watching “Summertime,” an upbeat, feature-length poetry slam that just might be the most inspirational movie to hit the indie circuit this year. A lo-fi, high-ingenuity collaborative endeavor between “Blindspotting” director Carlos Lopéz Estrada and...
- 1/24/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been 25 years since a 24-year-old filmmaker from New Jersey, very much inspired by Richard Linklater’s Slacker, went on to direct his own low-budget, independent and dialogue-driven effort. Of course I’m talking about Kevin Smith and his debut feature-length film Clerks, which was, in its own right, important and inspiring for independent and comedic moviemaking. It’s been a long, long journey since then for Smith and his acting and business partner Jason Mewes, who gave life to the iconic and hilarious duo of slackers and drug dealers Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith). Clerks went on to become part of a shared universe, way before Marvel and its McU: The View Askewniverse, alongside such films...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/15/2019
- Screen Anarchy
by Nathaniel R
Richard Linklater directing Cate Blanchett on the set of "Where'd Ya Go, Bernadette?"
Richard Linklater, who burst on to the indie film scene as the voice of the "Slacker" generation, has had quite an eclectic career all told. He's made 19 theatrically released narrative features of a wide variety of genres and been instrumental in launching new stars or adding significant lustre and awards notices to other filmographies. The Austin-based filmmaker's latest is the adaptation of the best-seller Where'd Ya Go Bernadette. Cate Blanchett stars as the artist in self-imposed exile.
Linklater's films have ranged from perfect gems to little seen oddities, director for hire gigs, weird and funny larks, remakes, misfires, and ambitious personal projects. How many of them have you seen? All 19 posters are after the jump...
Richard Linklater directing Cate Blanchett on the set of "Where'd Ya Go, Bernadette?"
Richard Linklater, who burst on to the indie film scene as the voice of the "Slacker" generation, has had quite an eclectic career all told. He's made 19 theatrically released narrative features of a wide variety of genres and been instrumental in launching new stars or adding significant lustre and awards notices to other filmographies. The Austin-based filmmaker's latest is the adaptation of the best-seller Where'd Ya Go Bernadette. Cate Blanchett stars as the artist in self-imposed exile.
Linklater's films have ranged from perfect gems to little seen oddities, director for hire gigs, weird and funny larks, remakes, misfires, and ambitious personal projects. How many of them have you seen? All 19 posters are after the jump...
- 8/16/2019
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Austin-based auteur Richard Linklater’s new film “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” opens this weekend. In tribute to the Academy Award nominee’s vast and varied career of more than 20 films, with a handful in pre-production, Vanity Fair has put together a video interview retrospective with Linklater, starting with his 1985 grassroots short “Woodshock.”
Linklater told Vanity Fair he started playing with film in junior high, with his rough-around-the-edges, first foray into filmmaking, “Woodshock,” marking a step-up from Super 8 into 16mm. “It’s a short, in and around a blissed-out, drug-fueled music festival in Austin in the summer of ’85. No one involved remembered probably being filmed,” he said. “Ecstasy was actually legal then, interestingly!”
Linklater’s breakout came in 1991 with the Sundance premiere of “Slacker,” where the film was nominated for the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. This proto-mumblecore, indie dramedy told in a documentary style takes us through a...
Linklater told Vanity Fair he started playing with film in junior high, with his rough-around-the-edges, first foray into filmmaking, “Woodshock,” marking a step-up from Super 8 into 16mm. “It’s a short, in and around a blissed-out, drug-fueled music festival in Austin in the summer of ’85. No one involved remembered probably being filmed,” he said. “Ecstasy was actually legal then, interestingly!”
Linklater’s breakout came in 1991 with the Sundance premiere of “Slacker,” where the film was nominated for the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. This proto-mumblecore, indie dramedy told in a documentary style takes us through a...
- 8/15/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
With “Last Flag Flying” arriving in theaters, we’re taking on the not-so-simple task of ranking the movies of genre-hopping director Richard Linklater. The top titles on this list could rightfully be called modern classics, but every one of his films somehow evokes the heartfelt philosophy of his hypnotic “Waking Life”: human interaction is the highest form of spiritual communion.
20. “Bad News Bears” (2005)
The 1976 original was a true product of its time, with an all-star lineup led by Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neal, but this unnecessary remake just felt like it was trying too hard. By 2005, the sight of an aggressively un-pc Little League coach (Billy Bob Thornton) encouraging outrageous behavior in his young team seemed less subversive than sad.
19. “Fast Food Nation” (2006)
When truth is stranger than fiction, why turn it into fiction? Linklater admirably attempted to create a multi-course meal out of Eric Schlosser’s bestselling book,...
20. “Bad News Bears” (2005)
The 1976 original was a true product of its time, with an all-star lineup led by Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neal, but this unnecessary remake just felt like it was trying too hard. By 2005, the sight of an aggressively un-pc Little League coach (Billy Bob Thornton) encouraging outrageous behavior in his young team seemed less subversive than sad.
19. “Fast Food Nation” (2006)
When truth is stranger than fiction, why turn it into fiction? Linklater admirably attempted to create a multi-course meal out of Eric Schlosser’s bestselling book,...
- 8/15/2019
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” makes perfect sense as a Richard Linklater movie. In fact, this half-baked and eccentric tale of a modern woman getting her groove back — adapted from Maria Semple’s decidedly uncinematic novel of the same name — might only make sense as a Richard Linklater movie.
From the maverick likes of “Slacker” and “Boyhood” to the more studio-polished fare of “School of Rock” and “Me and Orson Welles,” Austin’s most inquisitive auteur has always been drawn to shaggy little stories about creative people trying to find their way through a world that doesn’t always spread itself out into a proper canvas. For a restless iconoclast like Linklater, there’s nothing more dangerous or exciting than an artist who doesn’t know what to do with themselves. So while other directors might have balked at the idea (or the commercial prospects) of a bizarre family comedy...
From the maverick likes of “Slacker” and “Boyhood” to the more studio-polished fare of “School of Rock” and “Me and Orson Welles,” Austin’s most inquisitive auteur has always been drawn to shaggy little stories about creative people trying to find their way through a world that doesn’t always spread itself out into a proper canvas. For a restless iconoclast like Linklater, there’s nothing more dangerous or exciting than an artist who doesn’t know what to do with themselves. So while other directors might have balked at the idea (or the commercial prospects) of a bizarre family comedy...
- 8/15/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
If you have an easy movie, the ones where the trailers practically edit themselves, that probably isn’t a Mark Woollen trailer. Woollen is the guy they call when the movies are more idiosyncratic, or their creators are, or both; the ones where the three-act structure may not be visible to the naked eye, or it’s hard to explain exactly what they’re about, but damn if they don’t make you feel something. But how can you see feelings, and in two minutes or less? What kind of marketing is that?
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
- 8/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
If you have an easy movie, the ones where the trailers practically edit themselves, that probably isn’t a Mark Woollen trailer. Woollen is the guy they call when the movies are more idiosyncratic, or their creators are, or both; the ones where the three-act structure may not be visible to the naked eye, or it’s hard to explain exactly what they’re about, but damn if they don’t make you feel something. But how can you see feelings, and in two minutes or less? What kind of marketing is that?
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
“I don’t know what marketing is,” said Woollen from the Santa Monica offices of Mark Woollen & Associates, where he employs a staff of 30. “I’m trying to represent the film. Filmmakers come to us in a vulnerable place. Sometimes we’re the first eyes seeing the first rough cut of film they’ve been working on for years.
- 8/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Richard Linklater writes in a short essay published on The Guardian that he’s still experiencing Ptsd from filming “Dazed and Confused.” The director’s coming-of-age movie is considered one of the defining American independent films of the 1990s, and it made stars out of young actors like Matthew McConaughey and Parker Posey. While the film has become a stoner classic that many young viewers idolize, Linklater writes that was not his original intention.
“I thought the 1970s sucked,” Linklater writes. “‘Dazed’ was supposed to be an anti-nostalgic movie. But it’s like trying to make an anti-war movie — just by depicting it, you make it look fun. I wanted to do a realistic teen movie — most of them had too much drama and plot but teenage life is more like you’re looking for the party, looking for something cool, the endless pursuit of something you never find, and even if you do,...
“I thought the 1970s sucked,” Linklater writes. “‘Dazed’ was supposed to be an anti-nostalgic movie. But it’s like trying to make an anti-war movie — just by depicting it, you make it look fun. I wanted to do a realistic teen movie — most of them had too much drama and plot but teenage life is more like you’re looking for the party, looking for something cool, the endless pursuit of something you never find, and even if you do,...
- 6/12/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
When it comes to indie filmmaking, few directors get as much mileage out of their limited budget than Joel Potrykus. Rooted in an often humorous, dark perspective, his work puts character first and his latest film, Relaxer, is perhaps the most ideal example of his inventive eye. Arriving in theaters in the director’s hometown of Grand Rapids today (and expanding to NYC and beyond starting next week), the film follows a couch-bound challenge taken to the extreme as Y2K approaches. We’re pleased to present an exclusive clip from the film, which features Joshua Burge getting a visit from Andre Hyland (who also steals the show in the Sundance hit The Death of Dick Long) as they discuss Jerry Maguire and present a challenge within a challenge.
John Fink said in our review, “While many indie filmmakers like Andrew Bujalski started making films in apartments with their friends...
John Fink said in our review, “While many indie filmmakers like Andrew Bujalski started making films in apartments with their friends...
- 3/22/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.