Linklater's bitchin' early '80s movie is a go

Yes, Richard Linklater's long-awaited early '80s college film, tentatively titled That's What I'm Talking About, appears ready to shoot in Austin in October and November. It will "center on the start of something new, with the story about college freshman who are trying to make the baseball team."

Early casting has offers out for the three lead baseball players:  Glee’s Blake Jenner, Teen Wolf’s Tyler Hoechlin, and 22 Jump Street’s Wyatt Russell.


And, more important to Austin folk, here's the scoop from the extras casting notice: 

SEEKING EXTRAS: male and female, all ethnicities, all ages!!

**THIS IS A PERIOD PIECE from the LATE 70's to early 80's - will require longer hair on all guys and the ability to style to an 80's look on ladies!!

--Some specific types include:
-Experienced Baseball Players ages 18-25 (Should not currently be or intending to play college baseball as will jeopardize your NCAA eligibility)
-Frat Guys ages 18-25
-Sorority Girls ages 18-25
-Bartenders and Waitresses (experience preferred) ages 21-35
-Punk Rockers ages 18-30
-Country Western types ages 18-30
-Experienced Two-Steppers ages 18-30
-Baseball Coaches ages 25-55
-College Girls and Guys ages 18-25
-Experienced Disco Dancers ages 18-25
-Nightclub Doormen ages 21-35
-Experienced Pool Players ages 18-25
-College Professors ages 30-65
-Hippies
-Bikers
-Jerry Garcia types
-African American men and women
-Asian men and women
-Hispanic men and women
-People with Pre-1981 vehicles
-People with cars from the 70s
--and many other general extra roles!

So the "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused (in which most of the high school kids were hippies) will include punkers, kickers, disco ducks and frat daddies. Plus, of course, lots of baseball players.

How do you apply to be an extra? Go to On Location Casting's Facebook page.

Linklater: More school and rock, less fish

Photo by Joe O'Connell

Richard Linklater must feel the adrenaline surging through his veins lately. First there's major critical acclaim for his 12-year project Boyhood. Now comes word that both his long-delayed college project and a TV version of School of Rock are in the works, but he's the latest director punt on the fishy Incredible Mr. Limpet remake.

The Hollywood Reporter: "According to sources, Linklater wants to concentrate on That's What I'm Talking About, a 1980s, university-set project that is akin to his cult hit, Dazed & Confused, which was set in the 1970s and set in high school. The project, which is based on Linklater's life, follows freshmen as they navigate through the first year of college life, while trying to make the baseball team."

Linklater played baseball briefly at Sam Houston State. The project may shoot in the fall.

Meanwhile, Linklater is producing a 13-episode Nickelodeon order of School of Rock based on the film he directed starring Jack Black. No word on whether this would shoot in Austin, but it probably depends on Linklater's level of involvement. It's also set to lens in the fall. Look for a casting announcement soon.

Richard Linklater hopes to lens 'Dazed' semi-sequel in the fall

Yep, that's what Richard Linklater said on Reddit when asked about the "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused: "Hoping to make it this fall, actually. A college comedy. I feel like mixing it up with a big ensemble."

The fan response was, of course: "Be a lot cooler if you did."

Linklater has been trying to get the college story made for years.

Oh, and Linklater says his 12-year project Boyhood may finally see the light of day in 2014.

Two Dallas natives in Texas Film Hall of Fame

Here' s my report for the Dallas Morning News from the Texas Film Hall of Fame. It should soon be behind a paywall, so I present it here in its entirety.


BY JOE O'CONNELL
Special Contributor

AUSTIN — On the way to school in Oak Cliff, young Stephen Tobolowsky would act out plays. On Thursday, the character actor whose name you don’t know but whose face you do was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

He was joined by fellow Dallas native Robin Wright, San Antonio’s Henry Thomas (E.T., All the Pretty Horses) and Houston’s Annette O’Toole (TV’s Smallville) at Austin Studios on the former site of the city’s airport.

Photo by Joe O'Connell

Tobolowsky, who has acted in more than 100 film and TV projects, including Groundhog Day and Memento, said he had a revelation about his career while playing the role of a professional bass fisherman years ago. A car arrived, he thought to take him to the set, but the driver had mistaken Tobolowsky for a pilot he’d been sent to pick up. Then, said pilot showed up, thinking Tobolowsky must be the cabbie.

“In one day, I was mistaken for both a jet pilot and a taxi driver en route to my role as a bass fisherman,” he said. “That is the life of a character actor.”

Photo by Joe O'Connell

Princess Bride director Rob Reiner introduced Wright at the ceremony and said he had seen more than 100 young actresses before Wright arrived. “She walked in the room and I said, ‘Oh, my God, she is the princess bride.’ ”

While born in Dallas, Wright was raised in California. However, she returned yearly and fondly recalls jaunts to Cedar Creek Lake, where she swam and ate watermelon.

Wright, with a recent role in Netflix’s House of Cards, said the joy of her career has been “sharing stories and receiving them on a daily basis and getting paid for it.”

It’s the 13th year the Austin Film Society has inducted new members to the Texas Film Hall of Fame, which raises funds to aid independent filmmakers and serves as a kickoff to the South by Southwest Film Festival. Also honored this year was Richard Linklater’s 1993 teen film, Dazed and Confused, which received the Star of Texas Award.

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, an old Linklater pal, presented the award for what he called one of his favorite films of the 1990s.

Austin Film Society founder Linklater said he was still learning his craft while making Dazed and Confused and had his uneasy moments.

“I had such high ambitions for what I was doing,” he said. “If I ever felt less than certain, I could see how hard the cast was working and realize how much it meant to them.”

Actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (TV’s Friday Night Lights) serenaded the cast with a sultry rendition of the Led Zeppelin song “Dazed and Confused.” Linklater’s film is named for the song, but he was unable to get rights to use it in the film.