Richard Linklater, American independent film director. Outstanding Projects

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Richard Linklater is an American independent film director. Twice nominated for an Oscar in the Best Screenplay category, for Before Sunset (2004 production) and Before Midnight (created in 2013). He is also the winner of the Berlin Film Festival for the best directorial work - the films "Boyhood" and "Before Dawn". He was nominated for an Oscar for the third time in 2014 for the most successful film of his career, Boyhood.

Richard Linklater, biography

The director was born in 1960, July 30, in Houston, Texas. He spent his childhood in the estate of his maternal grandparents. After high school, he entered the Literature Department at the University of Houston, intending to become a writer. However, the lack of money forced the young man to leave his studies and get a job on the platform of a Mexican oil company. Richard Linklater devoted all his free time to reading books.

BAt the age of twenty, the future director became interested in cinema. Once on the set, he was fascinated by the atmosphere of the creative process. Soon Richard Linklater decided to dedicate his life to cinematography, acquiring a Super 8 8mm camera, a projector and the necessary editing equipment. Then he moved to the city of Austin, because there was a college for the preparation of documentary filmmakers.

Career start

A serious stimulus for Linklater was the 1981 Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull, which tells about fights without rules and about the mafia that controls the competition. After watching the film countless times, Richard Linklater concluded for himself that such action-packed films that keep the viewer in constant suspense should be staged. In addition, the future director realized that a lot depends on the material base of the film project.

After several months of experimenting with film techniques, Linklater set about making his first film, which he called "You Can't Learn to Plow by Reading Books". Filming lasted more than a year, the same amount was spent on installation work. The film did not make much of an impression at the box office, in fact, the box office barely recouped its costs.

First successful project

Linklater's next film, The Idler, was more successful even though it was only budgeted at $23,000. The film was dedicated to the people of Austin and told about their life for one day. The film attracted the attention of critics, was nominated for the Grand Prix at Sundance.

In 1993, Richard Linklater directed his second feature film, High in Confusion. This time the budget of the film project was six million dollars. The plot revolves around a group of high school students from we althy families on their last day of school in 1976. The film starred then little-known actors Milla Jovovich and Ben Affleck. The director in this film limited himself to the events of one day.

Story with continuation

In 1995, Linklater created the first film of the famous trilogy, which was called "Before Dawn". An American, a student of Jess, is heading to Vienna to fly to the USA from there. Celine, a Frenchwoman, is going to fly from Vienna to France, to enter the Sorbonne. The young man offers to stay in Vienna, one of the most romantic cities in the world, and spend evening and night together. Starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.

Before Dawn, Linklater won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

In 2004, the second part of the trilogy "Before Sunset" was released, in which the same characters met nine years later. And finally, in the third film, "Before Midnight", filmed in 2013, the couple already have two children.

The director was in constant creative search, and in 1998 he decided to create a film in the classic western genre with a bank robbery. "BrothersNewtons" was the name of the film project, which tells about four young people who decided to improve their affairs. Young people began to methodically rob financial institutions in America and Canada. The roles were played by Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew McConaughey and Vincent De Onofrio.

New methods

Richard Linklater made his next two films in 2001. These were "Tape" and "Awakening of Life" - films of different genres. In addition, in the latter, the director applied new rotoscoping techniques that give a noble touch to each captured frame. Linklater used the same technique in his 2006 film Blackout, starring Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder.

In 2003, Richard Linklater, whose films attracted more and more viewers, directed the comedy "School of Rock". Starring Jack Black and Joan Cusack.

In 2006, the director was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for Before Sunset. And in the same year, he released the film "Fast Food Nation", a film adaptation of the journalistic novel by Eric Schlosser about the dangers of fast food in the United States. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

At present, director Richard Linklater, whose filmography includes more than twenty films of various genres, is working on the script for his next film project.