Richard Linklater Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Presidential Fitness Challenge certificate) to go to the moon before Neil Armstrong to test out a capsule that has accidentally been made too small for adult astronauts. But no sooner does Stan upchuck during his first G-force simulation than adult Stan (Jack Black) hijacks the narration and takes a long detour into the sights and sounds and memories of growing up as a youngest child in late-’60s suburbia.This charming walk down memory lane — which includes everything from “Dark Shadows” to grandparents who remember the Depression to riding to the beach on the back of pick-up trucks and using gasoline-soaked rags to wipe the tar off your feet — is the heart of “Apollo 10 1/2,” and it’s an exhilarating, Proustian wave of reminiscences.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticEverybody knows the name of the first man to step foot on the moon, but how many have heard the story of the kid who walked there before him? Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood” reflects one of the director’s childhood fantasies, informed by growing up in South Texas, a stone’s throw from Johnson Space Center, at the time NASA was trying to do the impossible. “Houston, we have a problem,” he playfully imagines the organization’s top scientists saying, “We accidentally built a lunar module a little too small.” Ergo, they need a 10 1/2-year-old to go up in Neil Armstrong’s place.As someone slightly younger than Linklater who also spent his formative years in Texas, it’s impossible to overstate how much I adore that premise and the collection of associations it brings up for the “Boyhood” director.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaLizzo slammed new Texas laws and policies that restrict access to abortion and target trans children and their families during a keynote conversation at SXSW on Sunday. The pop star, who grew up in Houston, said the controversial moves unfairly target women and the LGBTQ community. “I’m proud to rep Houston, but I’m not proud to rep Texas politics right now,” Lizzo said to loud applause.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentEverybody has to start somewhere. Cate Blanchett — long before her two Oscars and starring roles in film, TV and on stage — had an oddball beginning in showbiz.On March 28, 1994, Variety mentioned “Police Rescue,” a big-screen version of the hit Aussie TV series, in which she appeared.

Richard Linklater’s latest film “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood” poses the question: what if the first person to walk on the moon wasn’t Neil Armstrong but was actually a kid from Houston leading a mission called Apollo 10 1/2 in secret because NASA accidentally built the space shuttle too small? That amusing fantasy and twist on American history though is just the set up for Linklater’s latest and arguably most personal film, which just released its first trailer Monday. It’s one in which he explores the reality of what life was like in Houston, Texas in 1969 just before the moon landing, all seen through the eyes of a kid who lived right next door to all of it.

South by Southwest Conference and Festivals today announced a final round of Keynotes and Featured Speakers for the 36th annual Conference taking place in Austin, TX from March 11-20, with Ron Howard, Ted Lasso stars Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt, actor-filmmaker Gillian Jacobs, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. representative Beto O’Rourke, and musicians Brian Eno and Nathaniel Rateliff among the notable additions.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterKaren Toliver has joined Netflix as vice president of animated film, Variety has learned exclusively.The former Sony Pictures Animation senior vice president will join the streamer in March reporting to Melissa Cobb, VP of the kids and family division. She’ll be responsible for two to three animated features annually and will work alongside fellow animation VP Gregg Taylor.“It has been an absolute dream working with Kristine Belson and her game-changing team at Sony Pictures Animation.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterTwice thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the SXSW Film Festival is making a major return to form this year — featuring premium studio projects from Sandra Bullock and Pete Davidson, notable indies and docs, and a closing night premiere from the new season of Donald Glover’s “Atlanta.”In 2020, the Austin-based conference was the first major event to fall to the rapidly-escalating first wave of coronavirus, and was similarly forced to go virtual in 2021 thanks to the Delta variant. Now preparing for an in-person program beginning on March 11, Hiollywood and indie hopefuls are coming out in force.Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s “The Lost City,” Pete Davidson and Amandla Stenberg’s secret A24 slasher film “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,” Richard Linklater and Jack Black’s coming-of-age story “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,” and Nicolas Cage’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” will all populate the headliners section.

HEADLINERSBig names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema.Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age ChildhoodDirector/Screenwriter: Richard Linklater, Producers: Tommy Pallotta, Mike Blizzard, Femke Wolting, Bruno FelixA coming-of-age story set in the suburbs of Houston, Texas in the summer of 1969, centered around the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Cast List: Jack Black, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Bill Wise, Natalie L’Amoreaux, Jessica Brynn Cohen, Sam Chipman, Danielle Guilbot (World Premiere)AtlantaDirector: Hiro Murai, Producers: Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Hiro Murai, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms and Dianne McGunigleTaking place almost entirely in Europe, Season 3 of FX’s Atlanta finds Earn, Alfred ‘Paper Boi,’ Darius and Van in the midst of a successful European tour, as the group navigates their new surroundings as outsiders, and struggle to adjust to the newfound success they had aspired to.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterIt’s Peter Parker’s world, we’re just living in it.After a brief hiatus to let another movie sell a few tickets, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has unseated “Scream” and reclaimed the top spot on domestic box office charts. Now in its sixth weekend of release, Sony’s comic book sequel has added another $14.1 million from 3,705 North American venues.It’s rare for any film to secure the No. 1 slot in its sixth outing, though “Spider-Man: No Way Home” didn’t have much in the way of competition.

A big hit at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, the Finnish film “Compartment No. 6” has been compared to Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunset” in its ideas of romance on board a train and the philosophical, dialogue-heavy scenes it features.

EXCLUSIVE: Submarine, the company behind Amazon’s animated drama Undone, is to explore the history of ecstasy in a new docuseries.

Stick it to the man! In 2003, writer Mike White collaborated with Jack Black and director Richard Linklater on the musical comedy School of Rock. The flick was so successful that it even spawned a Nickelodeon series and a Tony-nominated musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Writer-director-actress Julie Delpy is perhaps best known for her work in the “Before Trilogy” with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke. But those who are familiar with her directing work, from the duo of relationship comedies “2 Days In Paris” and “2 Days In New York,” to her more recent films “Lolo” and “My Zoe” likely have a deeper understanding of her creative bent.

French actress Julie Delpy came to North American fame and acclaim thanks to the brilliant 1995 romantic film “Before Sunrise.” She would later co-write the two sequels, “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight,” alongside director Richard Linklater and co-star Ethan Hawke, nabbing Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for both scripts.

It isn’t often that a filmmaker works on a project for three decades in relative silence, but it appears Richard Linklater has been holding out on us: recently, Ethan Hawke let slip that he and his “Before Sunrise” and “Boyhood” collaborator were hard at work on a project that explores the origins of Transcendentalism in America.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaA few years ago, John Sloss worried that the major talent agencies had figured out the formula for his secret sauce.

Marta Balaga Chosen as this year’s recipient of the President’s Award at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Ethan Hawke discussed his career, projects – including a potential new film with his long-time collaborator Richard Linklater – and the ongoing pandemic.At a roundtable discussion with journalists, Hawke opened up about his next possible movie project with Linklater.

“Can I be Mr. Camouflage?” A young punk asks his friends in the closing moments of the “Reservation Dogs” pilot, helmed by Oscar-winning writer/director Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “What We Do In The Shadows”).

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorJulie Delpy did not turn down an offer to reunite with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke for a fourth “Before” movie.Following reports that Delpy said during an interview with a French news outlet that she walked away from the project, she told me Friday morning that her comments were misinterpreted because a fourth film was never in the works.“What happened was that we — all three of use — agreed that we couldn’t come up with something

Julie Delpy is getting candid about why she turned down a role in the fourth installment of the Before movies.

In terms of international cinema, in particular, you don’t find actors as popular and experienced as Julie Delpy. The French actress has appeared in films of all sizes all over the world, maybe most famously in the “Before” trilogy from filmmaker Richard Linklater.

Narrative-averse portmanteau films are a tough nut to crack, yet not impossible.

Chicago Sun-Times. Clark’s sister told the paprer he was on his way home at the time of the accident.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Alright, alright, alright.”Thanks to the magic of Zoom, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, and director Richard Linklater will discuss the making of “Dazed and Confused” as part of an effort to get moviegoers to return to theaters. The cast reunion is being produced by Alamo Drafthouse as part of its “Support Local Cinemas” events.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOscar-nominated Richard Linklater, producer Basil Iwanyk and “Shadow In The Cloud” director Roseanne Liang headline the speakers line-up at the Australian International Screen Forum set to take place later this month (March 21-26, 201).The event’s industry program showcases innovative Australian and international content, and features conversations with leading film industry mentors and talent from Australia and the U.S.Proceedings kick off with an industry-only

There is a long list of films that were turned down by one major film festival only to have a breakout moment at another. For example, Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” ended up going to Sundance after Cannes passed and Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” went to SXSW after Sundance passed.

Netflix said Thursday that it is turning Sulwe, the bestselling children’s book by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, into an animated musical, the latest move by the streamer to bolster its feature animation slate that already includes Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Adventure, Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio among others.