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‘Boyhood’ Named Picture of The Year By Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Boyhood - (IFC Films)
Boyhood – (IFC Films)
Boyhood, director Richard Linklater’s magnum opus of a young child’s (Ellar Coltrane) subtle journey of self-discovery, was named Best Picture of the Year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).

“Originality was honored in this year’s awards from LAFCA, with several prizes going to Richard Linklater’s twelve years in the making Boyhood, and other important awards for the imaginative Grand Budapest Hotel, the groundbreaking cinematography of Birdman, and the tour de force performance by Tom Hardy in Locke,” said LAFCA president Stephen Farber. “Our group again honored a range of films from around the world and an impressive array of emerging and veteran talents.”

The 40th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards takes place Saturday, January 10 at the Intercontinental, Los Angeles.

Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood (IFC Films, Matt Lankes)
Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood (IFC Films, Matt Lankes)

Below is a list of the winners:

Picture: Boyhood (Runner-up: Grand Budapest Hotel)

Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Runner-up: “The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson)

Actor: Tom Hardy, “Locke” (Runner-up: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”)

Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” (Runner-up: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”)

Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Runner-up: Edward Norton, “Birdman”)

Supporting Actress: Agata Kulesza, “IDA” (Runner-up: Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler”)

Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson (Runner-up: Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo)

Animation: The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Runner-up: The Lego Movie)

Foreign Language Film:  Ida (Runner-up:  Winter Sleep)

Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: Citizenfour (Runner-up: Life Itself)

New Generation: Ava DuVernay, “Selma”

Film Editing: Sandra Adair, “Boyhood” (Runner-up: Barney Pilling, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman” (Runner-up: Dick Pope, “Mr. Turner”)

Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Runner-up: Ondrej Nekvasil, “Snowpiercer”)

Score: (tie)  Jonny Greenwood, “Inherent Vice” and Mica Levi, “Under The Skin”

Douglas E. Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video: Walter Reuben, “The David Whiting Story”

Career Achievement: Gena Rowlands

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Ethan Hawke On ‘Boyhood’ & Acting: “I’m Not A Better Actor Now”

Boyhood

As one grows and matures into the world, many facets of one’s life is expected to improve. For actors and filmmakers, learning and honing their craft, mixed in with a genuine curiosity, should only deepen their work. During the Boyhood interviews, Ethan Hawke was asked if he’s become a better actor over the years, and his humble response gave an insightful look into the process.

Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood (IFC Films, Matt Lankes)
Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood (IFC Films, Matt Lankes)

“I would like to think I’m a better actor now,” said Hawke who referenced his work in Joe Dante’s feature Explorers in his response. “But I’m just dealing with the hand that I have now. I’m not a better actor now – I wish I was. It’s a nice idea.”

Check out the audio clip below as Ethan Hawke talks about the difference between acting in film and on stage – and he also explains why he really doesn’t feel that he’s a “better actor” at this moment. Boyhood co-star Patricia Arquette also chimes in on the answer, as she explains the joy and challenge of working with young actors Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater.

Boyhood is now playing in select theaters, and if you’re a fan of Richard Linklater’s previous work (Before Midnight, Slacker, Waking Life), then this film should be up your alley.

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“Boyhood” Is Blessed By The Cinema Gods & The Houston Astros

The oft-used term “film gods” blessed the Boyhood production in manifold ways, and considering director Richard Linklater and his crew devoted over 12 years of their lives to this epic storyline, a bit of positive karma was thankfully part of that experience. A portion of that goodwill was also generated by America’s national pastime.

Boyhood centers on a boy named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he navigates his way through the pains and joys of childhood to eventually become an introspective and insightful teenager. His path is met with its share of heartache, which includes witnessing the failed relationships of his mom (Patricia Arquette) and the Peter Pan complex ridden behavior of his well intentioned dad (Ethan Hawke). Lorelei Linkater, the director’s daughter, plays Mason’s sister Samantha. Clocking in at 164 minutes, Linklater

 

Boyhood – (IFC Films)

During Boyhood’s press conference, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater talk about how a bit of luck and good timing aided the production. During one year, Hawke had to catch a plane right after shooting a bowling sequence in Boyhood, and if he missed the flight it would have led to horrible repercussions for another project he was working on.

For Linklater, he was more than thankful when he a Jason Lane homer (while Lane was with the Houston Astros) made it into Boyhood. That father and son baseball bonding moment was turned into a truly exciting turn of events thanks to that fortuitous Astros dinger.

“The biggest luck of all, in a lot of ways, was Lorelei and Ellar,” said Hawke. “Their contribution – we could have never predicted.”

Click on the media bar below to hear Linklater and Ethan Hawke talk about the “film gods” that blessed Boyhood (Arquette is also heard in the clip) .

Boyhood opens July 11.

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Richard Linklater’s Epic ‘Boyhood’ Readies for July 11 Release

Richard Linklater’s (Before Midnight, Bernie) ambitious feature Boyhood is hitting U.S. theaters on July 11. The project, which Linklater shot from 2002 to 2013, covers 12 years of a family’s life, with much of the narrative seen through the eyes of a wide-eyed boy named Mason (Ellar Contrane). The project, which stars frequent Linklater collaborator Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater (the filmmaker’s daughter), and Patricia Arquette premiered to critical acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Boyhood (IFC Films)Linklater, who also produced the film, won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival. The project clocks in at 164 minutes, and if the movie is half as good as this sterling IndieWire assessment, then we may be in for a good one. After all, Linklater’s continued link to our youthful desires and drives (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, The Waking Life, the Before films, Me and Orson Welles) originate from a completely inspired place, and one assumes Boyhood could be his crowning achievement.

In the clip below, Julie Delpy talks about what makes Richard Linklater such a unique filmmaker (her comments are in relation to Before Midnight’s opening sequence):