Richard Linklater facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Linklater
Linklater in 2022
Born	Richard Stuart Linklater (1960-07-30) July 30, 1960 (age 64) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Director, producer, writer
Years active	1985–present
Notable work	Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Before trilogy, School of Rock, Waking Life, Slacker
Spouse(s)	Christina Harrison
Children	3, including Lorelei

Richard Stuart Linklater (born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is famous for directing, producing, and writing movies. Many of his films explore themes like growing up in the suburbs and how time changes things.

Some of his well-known movies include the comedies Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993). He also made the romantic Before trilogy films: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). Kids often know him for the fun music comedy School of Rock (2003).

Linklater also created animated films like Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). His drama Boyhood (2014) was special because it was filmed over 12 years with the same actors. He has won several awards, including a Silver Bear for Best Director for Before Sunrise and a Golden Globe Award for Boyhood. In 2015, Time magazine named him one of the world's most influential people.

Growing Up in Texas

Richard Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Diane Margaret, was a teacher. He went to Huntsville High School where he played football. Later, he moved to Bellaire High School because he was better at baseball. As a teenager, he even won an award for his art and writing.

Linklater went to Sam Houston State University and played baseball there. But he left college to work on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working, he read many novels. When he returned to land, he discovered a love for movies by visiting a special cinema in Houston. This made him realize he wanted to make films. He used his savings to buy a camera and editing tools, then moved to Austin, Texas.

Starting His Film Career

In 1985, Linklater helped start the Austin Film Society. This group helps people learn about and appreciate movies. He worked with his college professor and other film lovers to create it.

For several years, Linklater made many short films. These were like practice projects to try out different film techniques. His first full-length movie was It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988). He filmed it using a Super-8 camera, and it took two years to make. This film showed his unique style, with very little camera movement and a story that didn't follow a strict plan. It explored the idea of traveling without a clear destination.

Linklater then started his own film company called Detour Filmproduction. He made his second movie, Slacker, for only $23,000. This film became very popular and earned over $1.25 million. Slacker shows a day in the life of Austin, Texas, focusing on its interesting and unusual people.

His third film, Dazed and Confused (1993), was based on his own high school years. It was praised by critics and became a hit on video. This movie also helped launch the career of actor Matthew McConaughey.

In 1995, Linklater won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival for his film Before Sunrise. This movie was the first in his famous Before trilogy. Later, he directed The Newton Boys (1998), which was his first Hollywood film.

Gaining More Attention

Linklater became more widely known with his animated films Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). These movies used a special animation technique called rotoscoping. This means the film was shot with real actors first, and then artists traced over each frame to create an animated look. Critics like Roger Ebert praised this unique style.

He also directed popular comedies like School of Rock (2003). This movie helped him reach a wider audience. In 2004, a British TV channel made a documentary about Linklater, exploring the ideas behind his films.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset (2004). This was the second film in the Before trilogy. His film Fast Food Nation (2006) looked at the fast food industry. He also directed Me and Orson Welles (2009) and Bernie (2011), which were well-received by critics.

In 2013, he received another Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Before Midnight, the final film in the Before trilogy.

Boyhood and Recent Projects

In 2014, Linklater released Boyhood. This film was very special because it was made over 12 years, following the same actors as they grew up. It received amazing reviews from critics. Linklater won many awards for Boyhood, including Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and BAFTAs for Best Director and Best Picture. He also received his first nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.

After Boyhood, Linklater directed Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), which was a fun movie about college baseball players. He then made Last Flag Flying (2017), a drama starring Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Carell. In 2019, he directed Where'd You Go, Bernadette, based on a popular novel.

Linklater has a very interesting project planned: an adaptation of the musical Merrily We Roll Along. Like Boyhood, this film will be shot over many years, but it will tell the story backward! In 2024, he directed an episode for the HBO series God Save Texas, focusing on prisons in his hometown of Huntsville, Texas.

How He Directs Films

Richard Linklater's filmmaking style is unique. He was inspired by films like Raging Bull and directors such as Robert Bresson and Yasujirō Ozu.

Many of his films, including Slacker, Dazed and Confused, and the Before trilogy, take place over just one day. These movies often focus less on a complicated plot and more on how people interact and talk to each other.

Actors like Ethan Hawke and Matthew McConaughey have appeared in many of his films. Other actors who often work with him include Jack Black, Julie Delpy, and Patricia Arquette.

His Life Outside of Movies

Linklater lives in Austin, Texas. He chooses not to live or work in Hollywood for long periods.

He has been with Christina Harrison since the 1990s. They have three daughters, born in 1994 and 2004. His oldest daughter, Lorelei Linklater, acted in Boyhood as the main character's sister. Richard Linklater has been a vegetarian since his early twenties.

Feature Films Directed

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1988	It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books	Yes	Yes	Yes	Also actor, cinematographer and editor
1990	Slacker	Yes	Yes	Yes	Also actor
1993	Dazed and Confused	Yes	Yes	Yes
1995	Before Sunrise	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Kim Krizan
1996	SubUrbia	Yes	No	No
1998	The Newton Boys	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Claude Stanush and Clark Lee Walker
2001	Waking Life	Yes	Yes	No	Also cinematographer
	Tape	Yes	No	No
2003	School of Rock	Yes	No	No	Also executive soundtrack producer
2004	Before Sunset	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke Story co-written with Kim Krizan
2005	Bad News Bears	Yes	No	Yes
2006	A Scanner Darkly	Yes	Yes	No
	Fast Food Nation	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Eric Schlosser
2008	Me and Orson Welles	Yes	No	Yes
2011	Bernie	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Skip Hollandsworth
2013	Before Midnight	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
2014	Boyhood	Yes	Yes	Yes
2016	Everybody Wants Some!!	Yes	Yes	Yes
2017	Last Flag Flying	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Darryl Ponicsan
2019	Where'd You Go, Bernadette	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Holly Gent and Vince Palmo
2022	Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood	Yes	Yes	Yes
2023	Hit Man	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Glen Powell
2025	Blue Moon	Yes	No	Yes	Post-Production
	Nouvelle Vague	Yes	Yes	No	Co-written with Vince Palmo, Holly Gent, Michèle Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson
TBA	Merrily We Roll Along	Yes	Yes	Yes	Filming will continue for the next 17 years.

Awards and Recognitions

Richard Linklater has won many awards for his films:

• Before Sunrise (1995) won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.
• Boyhood (2014) won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama. It also won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.
• He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).
• For Boyhood, he was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. The film won Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette.
• He has also received Best Film and Best Director honors from many film critic groups.

See also

In Spanish: Richard Linklater para niños