'Boyhood' faces all the ups and downs of growing up
In 2002, director Richard Linklater began a unique journey - documenting a fictional family through 12 years of life. He knew he was taking on an audaciously ambitious filmmaking task.
'It was like, 12 years from now, we'll have captured this family's life and see how everyone has grown up or aged. What an incredible canvas to express this,' Linklater says. 'But oh, my God, obviously from the get-go, we were in uncharted territory. To make this film was to admit you're collaborating with an unknown, uncontrollable future.'
The epic Boyhood, which opens Friday, follows this family through annual visits. Here are the hurdles Linklater overcame dealing with that future.
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The main character in 'Boyhood,' Mason, was played by Ellar Coltrane starting at age 6.(Photo: IFC Films)
Relying on a 6-year-old: Boyhood follows two divorced parents (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette) and their daughter (Linklater's real-life daughter Lorelei). But the movie rests on newcomer Ellar Coltrane, who was 6 when he was tapped to play son Mason.
'Casting decisions don't get much bigger than that,' Linklater says. But the 'ethereal, mysterious' kid never wavered in his willingness to take on the project through age 18.
'Any number of things could happen to stall out this project. You kind of never go there (mentally),' he says. 'But Ellar was always ready every year, bringing his A-game.'
Physical changes were worked into the screenplay. When Ellar showed up with nail polish or facial hair, that became part of the story. Linklater celebrated the advent of acne.
'The makeup lady was like, 'Should I cover these pimples?' And I was like, 'Hell, no!'' he says. ''I have waited for those pimples for years.''
Patricia Arquette is the mother and Ellar Coltrane the son in 'Boyhood.' For much of the film's production, Arquette was also committed to TV's 'Medium.'(Photo: IFC Films)
Actor schedules: During much of the production, Arquette was shooting TV's Medium,and Hawke was working on his Broadway and film career. But the group would find time each year to shoot.
'It was a logistical nightmare,' Hawke says. 'For the last decade, every time I would take a job, I would call Linklater and say I could be available on this day. He was the center spoke who would organize the schedules.'
As the project picked up steam in later years, it became easier, even if it meant jetting off to shoot on weekends or holidays.
'At first, it started out like a real experiment. I even wondered if we'd ever finish,' Hawke says. 'But as time went on, for all of us, it began to get more and more important. I organized my life around it.'
Financing: Pitching the long-term concept in bottom-line-conscious Hollywood was not easy.
'Who is going to finance something where there's no chance of return for 15 years?' Hawke says. 'That's a problem.'
Linklater concedes that the team lucked out with IFC Films, which provided about $200,000 a year.
'It's a crazy concept to get your head around,' he says. 'But they gave us just enough money each year.'
Ethan Hawke, left, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, director Richard Linklater and Patricia Arquette at the premiere of 'Boyhood' in New York.(Photo: Amanda Schwab, AP)
The unknowns: Over 12 years, anything could happen to the real lives of the filmmaking core. Linklater even laid out instructions in case of misfortune.
'Towards the end, I told Ethan, 'Hey, if I get hit by a bus, you have to finish this.' I had it mapped out - there would be a film today,' he says. 'But I knew that probably wouldn't happen, and we'd all be here.
'It's kind of wild that people are finally going to see this movie,' he adds. 'I haven't acknowledged to myself it's over. I haven't processed that.'
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