Richard Linklater says his “spiritual sequel” to Dazed And Confused also overlaps with Boyhood
Boyhood is one of the few three-hour movies that viewers wanted to keep going once the credits rolled. And according to writer-director Richard Linklater, it will keep going, in the form of a spiritual sequel. In a conversation with Creative Screenwriting, Linklater revealed that his next film, That’s What I’m Talking About, is a loose “continuation” of the Boyhood story.
If you have followed our previous coverage of That’s What I’m Talking About, you’re probably a little flummoxed, as Linklater previously said that the movie would be a close cousin to another of his beloved films, Dazed And Confused. Perhaps realizing that most of his movies are similar, Linklater now says the project is a sequel to both of those films, although the connection might be as tenuous as a boy’s first love affair with a very articulate and long-winded partner.
Probably while walking down the street and being completely naturalistic, the director explained:
“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.”
Considering Linklater’s fondness for reusing the same themes and actors, he could probably drop this “spiritual” business and just claim that all of his films are interrelated. Maybe Boyhood’s Mason Sr. has a twin brother named Jesse, who is the protagonist of the Before Sunrise trilogy. Maybe Mitch from Dazed And Confused takes shrooms and trips balls in the form of Waking Life. We’re still working on how to justify The Newton Boys, though.
[via /Film]