Director Richard Linklater on Making the ‘Spiritual Sequel’ to ‘Dazed and Confused’

In 1993, the world was given a glimpse into high school life in 1976 Austin, Texas, via the film Dazed and Confused. Writer and director Richard Linklater created a cult classic, and has continued a prolific filmmaking career with the likes of Before Sunrise, Boyhood, and other acclaimed features.

But now Linklater is returning to his roots, portraying college life in 1980 Texas in Everybody Wants Some!! Along the way, Linklater has referred to Everybody Wants Some!! as the spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused.

“I think I just came up with that term to kind of orient people. Like ‘That was my high school; this is my college,’” Linklater told Yahoo Movies. “It’s not really the same characters; I really wasn’t thinking of too many Dazed characters specifically.”

Linklater did draw some parallels between the two worlds, however. “I mean, chronologically, it would really be more like Mitch [Kramer]. Four years later at this moment, he would be going off to college, but yeah, intellectually it probably is more like Pink or the older guys — the athlete who is kind of seeing a bigger world.”

Linklater also touched on the growth the characters experienced throughout the film. “College is such an eye-opener. You know — you come in one person, and immediately your horizons expand,” said Linklater. “To me the metaphor between these two movies was high school was all about that confinement and they’re kind of rebelling against their constrictions. You have to be in school. College [is] freedom. You don’t want to be there? Quit. Go get a job. You know you don’t have to be there.”

Everybody Wants Some!! opens nationwide on Friday.

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