Richard Linklater Shares Insights on 20-Year Journey of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’, AI’s Impact, and Austin’s Thriving Film Community at SXSW

Richard Linklater has seen significant growth within his community of cinephiles since establishing the Austin Film Society in 1985. Originally aimed at booking independent and foreign films that local theaters overlooked, the organization has expanded to manage a 700-acre production lot at a former airport, contributing to a thriving film production economy in Texas, the eighth-largest economy in the world. Recently, Texas increased its film incentives to $150 million annually for the next decade. As Linklater has developed a prominent career—earning five Oscar nominations—his latest film, Blue Moon, about Lorenz Hart, is nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor for Ethan Hawke and Best Original Screenplay for Robert Kaplow.

In a recent interview, Linklater discussed the Austin Film Society and his upcoming multi-year project, a feature adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along. He also addressed the growing presence of AI in indie filmmaking.

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Similar to his ambitious epic Boyhood, which took 12 years to complete, Linklater’s project Merrily We Roll Along is a 20-year endeavor. The film is set to be released through a partnership between Blumhouse and Universal and features stars Beanie Feldstein, Ben Platt, Paul Mescal, and Mallory Bechtel.

“Story wise, I’m about a third of the way through, time wise I’m a quarter of the way through,” Linklater stated regarding the film’s status. “It starts in 1977 and goes back to like 1957. It’s rolling along.” Much like Boyhood, the film aims to capture the actors as they age in real-time, avoiding any form of digital de-aging.

Merrily We Roll Along follows the journey of Franklin Shepard, a former Broadway composer who has abandoned his friends and career to pursue a life as a Hollywood producer. On the casting front, Linklater noted, “Every year, there are a couple of parts that someone is starting.” When asked if frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke would feature in this film, he teased, “Not yet.”

Reflecting on the extensive timeline that will lead to the film’s completion around 2039, Linklater acknowledged, “I’m definitely tempting fate here. But we’re here for Stephen. He was there at the beginning.”

Linklater has a history of pushing the boundaries of animation, having experimented with rotoscope techniques in his 2001 film A Waking Life and 2006’s A Scanner Darkly. While AI’s potential raises concerns among Hollywood stakeholders, Linklater believes it can offer valuable tools for independent filmmakers. “They’ll do something cool with it. It’s about the ideas and the art — what do you do with it?”

“It’s going to be a huge factor in VFX. It’s going to be utilized in a great way, such as postproduction sound: a helicopter could fly into your shot and ruin it, and now you can get rid of it,” he explained. However, he expressed concerns about the risk of subpar content, stating, “I trust artists will do cool stuff.”

Austin Movie Mogul

“I had a parallel life before Slacker,” Linklater reminisced about the origins of the Austin Film Society, which he founded before his rise in the indie film scene. “First it was showing movies, then we started giving out grants. I had originally received a grant for Slacker. Then when the airport space became available, we spoke to the mayor and Austin gave it to us.”

In 2001, Linklater secured a lease for the Austin Studios property, which runs until 2080. The Austin Film Society has since expanded its mission to include a theatrical venue that is growing to three screens, alongside the Texas Film Awards and the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

(L to R) Austin Film Society CEO Rebecca Campbell, Spy Kids producer Elizabeth Avellán, stars Daryl Sabara, Alexa PenaVega, and director Robert Rodriguez

Before gathering momentum at Austin’s Paramount Theatre, the Hall of Fame tradition precedes SXSW, celebrating Texas’s cinematic contributions through The Texas Film Awards. Individuals honored need not be natives but must have ties to the state. Notable inductees include Julian Schnabel, who spent his formative years in Brownsville, Texas, and recently premiered his film In the Hand of Dante at Venice, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Oscar Isaac and Gal Gadot.

At the 26th ceremony held at Troublemaker Studios, Alien: Earth actress Sydney Chandler received the Rising Star Award. Chandler began her acting career during Covid, landing significant roles such as Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling. Honored alongside her was actor Sonny Carl Davis, recognized for his work in Thelma & Louise and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and the 25th anniversary of Spy Kids, which received the Star of Texas Award.

While Texas has long been a backdrop for Hollywood productions, Linklater and Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios have established a robust film and TV infrastructure in the region.

Linklater emphasizes the importance of providing industry support and access points to cultivate a film culture. He expresses aspirations to revitalize college campus movie theaters, which once served as essential venues for independent films. “Many campuses have these moribund theaters sitting around,” he said, noting the ease of distribution in the digital era.

Linklater believes the future of indie films relies on younger audiences aged 18-34, recalling the vibrant film culture of the 1990s marked by titles like Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction, and his own Slacker and Dazed and Confused. As the industry grapples with slow film acquisition rates and the rise of streaming, he observed, Linklater’s French New Wave tribute Nouvelle Vague was recently acquired by Netflix for $4 million, while Blue Moon was given a theatrical release through Sony Pictures Classics.

Regarding the shift in theatrical distribution, Linklater remarked, “It’s been going this way for a while, that shift away.” He added, “Every filmmaker I talk to around the world remarks about how young the audience is; maybe there needs to be more new theaters and distributors.” He concluded, “I think the audience is there if you talk to them. You just need to meet them where they want to be.”