Richard LinklaterBirth Place: Houston, Texas, USA Date of Birth: July 30, 1960 Heritage: American Famous for: Director of 'Slacker' (1991) Contact Richard Linklater | 
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Before Sunset Background: Film director, writer, producer and sometime actor Richard Linklater first came to prominence in 1991 with his work on the cult hit “Slacker,” from which he received a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival and two Independent Spirit nominations. After breaking into Hollywood with the well received “Dazed and Confused” (1993), he enjoyed extensive critical praise with the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy romantic vehicle “Before Sunrise” (1995), where he netted a Silver Berlin Bear Award and a Golden Berlin Bear nomination for his work. Nearly a decade later, the self taught filmmaker was reunited with stars Hawke and Delpy for the sequel “Before Sunrise” (2004). The film brought Linklater an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Berlin Bear nomination, an Independent Spirit nomination and a Writers Guild of America nomination. In between the film projects, the recipient of the John Cassavetes Award from the 2001 Denver International Film Festival directed several movies, including the award winning “Waking Life” (2001) and the comedy hit “School of Rock” (2003, starred Jack Black). Linklater's more recent directing credits include “Bad News Bears” (2005), “A Scanner Darkly” (2006, won an Austin Film Award), “Fast Food Nation” (2006) and “Me and Orson Welles” (2009). His new film, “Boyhood,” is scheduled for a 2013 release. In front of the camera, Linklater acted in Steven Soderbergh's “The Underneath” (1995), Adam Goldberg's “Scotch and Milk” (1998), Robert Rodriguez's “Spy Kids” (2001) and Ethan Hawke's “Chelsea Walls” (2001) and “The Hottest State” (2006). “(Terrence Malick) is a guy who sees his movies and thinks, ‘I would have done that differently.’ I see mine and say, ‘Given the circumstances, that's what I did and that's what I'd do again.’ I don't know how much of a free-will guy I am.” Richard Linklater
Childhood and Family: Richard Stuart Linklater was born on July 30, 1960, in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Huntsville, Texas. He was active in various sports, including basketball, baseball and football during his teenage years. After graduating from Huntsville High School, Richard, who was considered a troublemaker at school because he questioned the system, attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, but later quit to work on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. He read a number of books while working on the rig and whenever he had a chance to set ashore, visited a repertory theater in Houston. He became a huge fan of movies, which eventually led to his decision to become a filmmaker. With the money he got from the oil rig, Richard purchased a Super 8 camera, a projector and some editing apparatus, packed his stuff and moved to Austin, Texas, where he began working on his first film. In 1993, Richard welcomed a daughter named Lorelei Linklater into the world. He is a vegetarian.
Career: After moving to Austin, Richard Linklater co-founded the Austin Film Society (1985) with cinematographer Lee Daniel. The same year, he directed the seven minute short “Woodshock,” where he also served as the director of photography. He then directed, produced, wrote the concept, edited, and served as a cinematographer and actor for “It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books” (1988). The film never received a widespread release. Linklater's career gained momentum in 1991 with the release of “Slacker,” a film he wrote, directed, produced and starred in. Following a day in the life of a group of Gypsies and misfits in Austin, Texas, the film premiered at the Dobie Theater in Austin in July 1990. After being shown at the New York New Directors and New Films Festival on March 22, 1991, the film was released by Orion Classics in a lightly modified 35mm version on July 5, 1991. Although it did not enjoy a wide release, the film managed to collect over $1 million at the domestic box office and has achieved cult status. “Slacker” received primarily positive reviews from critics and was nominated for Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival. Linklater went on to receive Independent Spirit nominations in 1992 for Best Director and Best First Feature for his work on the film. Two years later, Linklater made his Hollywood debut with the coming-of-age “Dazed and Confused” (1993) and was nominated for a Golden Leopard at the 1993 Locarno International Film Festival for his effort. “Dazed and Confused” featured a large ensemble cast that included Ben Affleck, Renee Zellweger, Parker Posey, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Rapp, Nicky Katt, and Jason London. In 1995, Linklater co-wrote (with Kim Krizan) and directed the romantic movie “Before Sunrise,” which starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The film was nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear at the 1995 Berlin International Film Festival and Linklater picked up the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director. Also in 1995, Linklater could be seen in a cameo appearance in Steven Soderbergh's “The Underneath.” He followed it up with a voice role in the animated film “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America” (1996), which starred the voices of Mike Judge, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Robert Stack, and in Adam Goldberg's independent movie “Scotch and Milk” (1998). Linklater returned to the director's chair in 1996 when he helmed Giovanni Ribisi, Steve Zahn, Nicky Katt, Parker Posey and Ajay Naidu in the dark comedy “subUrbia,” which was written by Eric Bogosian. The film earned rave reviews and Naidu netted a 1998 Independent Spirit nomination for Best Supporting Male for his portrayal of Nazeer Choudhury. Two years later, Linklater scripted and directed “The Newton Boys” (1998), based on the real story of the Newton gang, a family of bank robbers from Texas. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio and Dwight Yoakam, the drama was considered a box office flop. After the failure of “The Newton Boys,” Linklater went on hiatus for a few years. He resurfaced in 2001 when he wrote and directed “Waking Life.” A digitally enhanced live action film, “Waking Life” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2001, and continued to enjoy festival screenings throughout 2001 to 2002. It was released in theaters on January 23, 2001. “Walking Life” won a National Society of Film Critics for Best Experimental Film, a New York Film Critics Circle for Best Animated Film, the CinemAvvenire Award at the Venice Film Festival for Best Film, an Ottawa International Animation Festival for Best Animated Feature Film and an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Feature, to name a few. Linklater also received the prestigious Golden Lion nomination, Independent Spirit nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and Chlotrudis nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay - Original. Apart from “Walking Life,” Linklater had one more film premiere at the 2001 Sundance called “Tape.” The well received drama, written by Stephen Belber and based on his play of the same title, starred Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman. He picked up the Laterna Magica Prize - Special Mention at the Venice Film Festival for “Walking Life” and “Tape.” The same year, Linklater was cast in director/writer Robert Rodriguez's family film “Spy Kids” and had a small part in “Chelsea Walls,” a dramatic film directed by Ethan Hawke and starring Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson and Robert Sean Leonard. After making the short film “Live from Shiva's Dance Floor” (2003), Linklater directed Jack Black in the comedy “School of Rock” (also 2003), which was written by Mike White. The $35 million produced film was a commercial success and grossed more than $81 million domestically and over $131 worldwide. The film earned rave reviews from critics and won the British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Film and a Young Artist for Best Family Feature Film - Comedy or Musical. The following year, Linklater directed and co-wrote a TV pilot called “$5.15/Hr.,” but it was never picked up. He returned to feature films to direct “Before Sunset” (2004), the sequel to the 1995 “Before Sunrise.” Again starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the drama was a hit and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, which Linklater shared with Kim Krizan and stars Hawke and Delpy. The film also received nominations in the same category from the Independent Spirit Awards, the 2005 Online Film Critics Society Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards. Linklater next directed and produced “Bad News Bears” (2005), a remake of the 1976 comedy film “The Bad News Bears.” Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear and Marcia Gay Harden, the film received a mixed reception and was a box office disappointment. He followed it up with the drama film “A Scanner Darkly” (2006), which Linklater directed and wrote the script based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. Screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form and a Prism Award for Feature Film - Limited Release, and a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. Linklater won a 2007 Austin Film Award and a Chlotrudis nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The cast included Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey, Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane. Still in 2006, Linklater directed the big screen adaptation of Eric Schlosser's best selling book “Fast Food Nation,” which starred Greg Kinnear, Wilmer Valderrama, Bobby Cannavale, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Bruce Willis and Kris Kristofferson. The film screened in competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival where it ended up picking up a Golden Palm nomination. The same year, he also returned to acting when he was cast as Vince in the Ethan Hawke drama “The Hottest State.” After directing the documentary film “Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach” (2008), Linklater cast Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes and Ben Chaplin for his period drama film “Me and Orson Welles,” based on the novel of the same name by Robert Kaplow. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 2008, and was released in the U.S. on November 25, 2009. Linklater's upcoming film “Boyhood,” which he wrote and directed, is set to be released on July 12, 2013. The film will star Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Ellar Salmon.
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