“I had done two films that IFC had been a part of, Tape and Waking Life, so when I had this idea, I guess in 2000 or 2001, I was talking to some people, and everyone kind of liked the idea,” director Richard Linklater recently told us when it came to the inception of Boyhood. “I would explain how the movie is going to be, and everyone was like, ‘Cool, but you’re asking me to put up money, but I won’t get any of it back for 13 years?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ and they’re like, ‘We just can’t do that.’ No one could wrap their head around it. But Jonathan Seering at IFC, he was able to work it in their system as a long-term production.”
Twelve years later, the results have finally arrived, and they are extraordinary. Easily one of the best films that’s bound to land this summer (or this year), we said in our Sundance review that “this is a film of many small moments, all added together to make something quite wonderful.” IFC Films are now kicking up their campaign for a release in July and today the first poster has landed.
Expanding on the first still from the film, it’s certainly not extravagant, but it captures the simplicity of the story, even if its production was rather complex. Check it out below, along with the full 25-minute Q&A from the SXSW screening, featuring Linklater and his daughter, Lorelei, as well as Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, and star Ellar Coltrane. To pass the time, one can also check out the director discussing his favorite films in an ongoing video series.
Boyhood opens on July 11th.