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Ethan Hawke Says Richard Linklater's 'Boyhood' Should Arrive in 2014

by Ethan Anderton
August 28, 2013
Source: Huffington Post

Earlier this summer, while making the rounds for the spectacular Before Midnight (which is still my favorite film of the year for now), Ethan Hawke predicted that the long in production Richard Linklater project Boyhood (also known as Growing Up or The 12-Year Project) would be done in about two years. However, it sounds like it might be done sooner. Speaking with Huffington Post, Hawke just revealed that he finished shooting his last scene in the film a couple days ago. Now there's only one more segment left to be shot in November, and they're hoping to hit the festival circuit at Sundance, Cannes or Berlin next year. Read on!

For those unaware, this new film has been compared to the Up documentary series from Michael Apted, which focsues on a group of people as they get older, with a new film arrive every 7 years (the last one was 56-Up release last year and now available on Netflix Intant). Linklater's project is not a documentary, but follows the many years of boyhood with the same kid actor. Ellar Salmon plays the offspring in question, and Hawke and Linklater have been shooting segments for the film since 2002, following the boy from ages 6 to 18. Hawke says it's the "most truly original, revolutionary thing I've ever been a part of," and adds:

"…this is about growing up and the little moments that define our identity that aren't about your bar mitzvah or your first time you had sex. There are these signposts that are supposed to be meaningful -- prom, or something -- that aren't really meaningful. The movie is going to be -- I don't know what people are going to make out of it -- but I do know it's the damned most original thing I've ever been a part of.

In 2002 when it started, the parents are going though a divorce and it opens with the mom -- and you don't see me. And then I come for a weekend visit the next year. The first scene I did was with a 7-year-old boy … and I take this 7-year-old boy bowling -- and I'm chain smoking in a bowling alley, which was legal then. And I finished yesterday and I'm 42 years old -- I was 33 when I did my first scene -- he's 19. He's a grown man! He's got crazy ear rings and he's taller than me and he's intimidating. Just acting in the movie felt like nothing I've ever done."

This really does sound like one of the most original films we'll encounter. Even if the story is familiar, the technique used to tell the story by letting real time pass for the actors is pretty revolutionary and interesting. You wouldn't find many filmmakers willing to work on a project that long and wait for their actors to age with time. Between this and the Before Sunrise series, Linklater should really be held in even higher esteem as a filmmaker than he already is. With impeccable writing and incredible performances pulled from his actors, he's truly a gifted director. We can't wait for Boyhood. How about you?

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