I love Richard Linklater. The “Before” series (Before Sunset, Before Sunrise, Before Midnight) are some of my all-time favourite films. I even enjoy his goofy stuff, like School of Rock and Dazed and Confused.
When I heard about his latest film Boyhood, I was blown away. It took Linklater twelve years to make the film. That means he started it in 2001 (woah… can you remember what you were doing in 2001?). He filmed the same cast for a few days every year, slowly piecing together a story about a boy growing up. The film is fiction (this isn’t a documentary) but it was made in real-time (the star of the film, Ellar Coltrane, was seven years old when they started; now he’s 19).
Sounds cool, but also a bit gimmicky, right? Hopefully not with Richard Linklater. I hope he brings the same amount of depth and thoughtful nuance to Boyhood that shows in the “Before” series.
What an amazing project. The movie comes out in July. Watch the trailer here.
[via Kottke.org]