Emerging as one of the finest American filmmakers working today, Richard Linklater‘s last two features have been among our most-anticipated films of the year, and he’s followed through, with Before Midnight and Boyhood being among some of the best films of the last decade. He’ll return again next year with That’s What I’m Talking About, long discussed as a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused, but it won’t be the only film that has a relation to his past filmography. Speaking to Creative Screenwriting, check out his quote below when asked about the project:
Well, I think the word “spiritual” gets me off the hook. I just shot it and wrapped it recently, and it has nothing to do with Dazed and Confused other than it would be set four years later, when one of the younger characters went off to college. It’s a party film. It’s really about the beginning of school, not the end of the school year. I guess personally or autobiographically it’s kind of in that realm, but it’s also a continuation of Boyhood, believe it or not. I don’t know if one film can be a sequel to two different movies, but it begins right where Boyhood ends with a guy showing up at college and meeting his new roommates and a girl. It overlaps with the end of Boyhood.
As a director who is clearly fascinated with the manipulation (or lack thereof) of time in his film, we’re interested to see the thematic connections between the three films. So, while many questioned if we’ll see a Boyhood sequel, it looks like the next best thing will be coming sooner than imagined. His next film, however, is set further back in 1980 and specifically follows the freshman group as they participate in the college’s baseball team. Starring Blake Jenner, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Wyatt Russell and Zoey Deutch, That’s What I’m Talking About will be released next fall by Paramount. Check out a teaser logo below as we await the film.
What do you think of Linklater’s comments?