Richard Linklater heaps praise on ‘Barbie’
Richard Linklater, the director behind 1993’s coming-of-age film Dazed and Confused, has urged audiences to go and see the new Barbie film.
Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking movie, starring Margot Robbie as the titular star opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken, was famously well-hyped, and Linklater thought it’s release alongside Oppenheimer was brilliant for the industry.
“I liked the musical numbers, I liked the movie a lot,” he recently told the NME. “It’s worth seeing a couple times. The best thing that happened to cinema in a while is Oppenheimer and Barbie – [it] sends a good message.”
However, that’s not to say the director is keen to make films of their huge scale, although he said he was glad the box-office smash of each film showed those films are “doing well”.
Linklater is currently working on Merrily We Roll Along, which, similar to 2014’s Boyhood, is set to be filmed over the course of several years to capture maturity in real time.
Production on the film has been halted due to the Hollywood strikes, which Linklater said he was “proud” to support.
“Everyone’s feeling it, I think no one’s happy,” he said. “But that’s kind of the problem. When you’re in an industry and no one’s happy, maybe it’s time to recalibrate and come forward with some things that could be fair to everyone. I think something’s gotta give.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.