“Most of us directors are control freaks. That’s why films like this don’t get made,” said Richard Linklater in reference to Boyhood, the remarkable movie he wrote and directed which presents successive episodes in the life of a boy from Austin, Texas, named Mason, starting at age 6 and tracking his growth and development until he enters college at 18. Actor Ellar Coltrane portrays Mason in this fictional story which carries a heavy dose of chronological reality in that Boyhood was shot over a 12-year span, maintaining the same cast throughout and reuniting them every year or so to shoot scenes. Thus we see Mason and his parents evolve and mature before our eyes.
“There were plenty of challenges—one of the biggest being endurance, like running a marathon,” observed Linklater. “The requirements of the movie were so unique that whatever liabilities they presented we tried to turn into assets. A lot of patience was required. Directors are accustomed to trying to bend the elements to their will of storytelling. But for this film, you had to relinquish that kind of control and instead accept the utter unpredictability of the future and make that your collaborator. You embrace some unknowns and have a certain confidence that you could collaborate with an uncertain future.”
That collaboration has gone well for Linklater as reflected on the awards show circuit, the latest win coming for Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) for Sandra Adair, ACE, from the ACE Eddie Awards. This comes on the heels of Patricia Arquette winning the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress, and, among other accolades, Boyhood earning six Oscar nominations–for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke)–as well as a Golden Globe win for Best Drama. Linklater is also slated to receive on Feb. 14 the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award. Linklater will be the 10th CAS Filmmaker honoree. Past honorees have been: Quentin Tarantino, Gil Cates, Bill Condon, Paul Mazursky, Henry Selick, Taylor Hackford, Rob Marshall, Jonathan Demme and Edward Zwick. Film critic association Best Picture wins include New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Critics Association, San Francisco Film Critics Circle and London Critics’ Circle.
Linklater explained that he wanted Boyhood to “feel like a memory,” noting that many people remember small moments in their lives which somehow hold a special meaning for them. With the approach of filming over 12 years, he could capture “a collection of lesser moments,” a departure from the turnkey staged cinematic moments that often characterize a coming-of-age story. These lesser moments more closely resemble what people remember growing up, which in part explains why Boyhood has resonated with audiences. Rather than demarcation points telling viewers that years have passed, people can witness the maturation on screen.
Linklater noted that he had been looking to make a film addressing childhood and growing up for some time but he couldn’t find the right path to take towards that end. He recalled having “ideas spread out all over” so he initially decided, rather than make a movie, to pen an experimental novel. He said that as soon as his hands hit the keyboard, the idea for Boyhood hit him–and he was back to trying to make a film.
A prime hurdle was getting financial backing for a project that wouldn’t yield a return on investment, even if all went well, until 12 or 13 years down the road. Linklater said he was fortunate to have had success in the past with IFC Films. This fostered the company’s willingness to take a leap of faith on Boyhood. Linklater quipped that the appeal of his pitch was that unlike many independent films, Boyhood would not lose money in one fell swoop–instead the losses would be smaller and incrementally spread out over a dozen years. How could an investor refuse, smiled Linklater.
Also pivotal to the film coming to fruition was the casting of Coltrane as Mason. Linklater noted that both of Coltrane’s parents are artists and were supportive of the project and their son’s involvement in it. Linklater added that he simply had a feeling that Ellar Coltrane was a thoughtful, cool kid who would grow up to be an interesting young man.
Furthermore, Hawke and Arquette–who portrayed Mason’s parents–immediately embraced the wild idea of making a film over a dozen years. While Linklater had a long collaborative track record with Hawke prior to Boyhood, this was the director’s first time working with Arquette and he was thrilled that after one meeting she agreed to take on the role–wanting to capture what a mom experiences through life, including a fair share of adversity, and with much of that parenthood occurring as a single mother.
While he was making the same movie over a 12-year span, each year was like starting a new film in terms of pre-pro, locations, getting the proper permits and other logistical considerations. Capturing 10 or 15 minutes or so each year on a multi-day shoot, Linklater said he had the luxury to think in-between each shoot of where the story was going, where it should go. This impacted his collaborations, including the essential one with his long-time editor Adair. Their working relationship is some 22 years old and counting, all the way back to one of the director’s breakthrough indie films, Dazed and Confused (a 1993 release). Linklater related that the editing of Boyhood was happening while it was still being written, directed and shot, with Adair providing crucial input as to what was needed from one year to the next; her voice being so important–and in a much different way than their prior collaborations–that she additionally earned a co-producer credit on Boyhood.
Linklater added that he’d like to work this way all the time, having a year to reflect and ruminate over how to best edit footage. Thus far this awards season, in addition to the ACE Eddie Award, Adair has won Best Editor distinction for Boyhood from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. And in addition to the Oscar nomination, she has earned Best Editing nominations for Boyhood from the Film Independent Spirit Awards, and the Critics Choice Movie Awards.
