Richard Linklater is an American filmmaker based out of Austin, Texas. He is, along with Steven Soderbergh and Kevin Smith, considered one of the most important figures in American Independent Film. His career began with Slacker, a very low-budget ensemble film about twenty-something misfits in Austin. The film was met with critical acclaim, and Kevin Smith says it was what inspired him to make Clerks. His second film, Dazed and Confused is a cult classic and equally acclaimed. From there, his career is, to say the least, eclectic. He's done two experimental animated films (Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly), studio comedies (School of Rock, Bad News Bears), smaller Indie movies (Fast Food Nation, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset), and an ambitious project called Boyhood, which is being filmed over a period of over 10 years, detailing one young man's childhood from elementary school to high school graduation, with each grade's story being written and shot over a few weeks each year until the project is completed.
Filmography:
- Slacker (1991)
- Dazed and Confused (1993)
- Before Sunrise (1995)
- subUrbia (1996)
- The Newton Boys (1998)
- Waking Life (2001)
- Tape (2001)
- School of Rock (2003)
- Before Sunset (2004)
- Bad News Bears (2005)
- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
- Fast Food Nation (2006)
- Me and Orson Welles (2009)
- Bernie (2011)
- Boyhood (began filming in 2002, anticipated release is 2013)