'Boyhood', a soon-to-be-released movie is doing something that was never attempted by a major film before. Filmmaker Richard Linklater made a movie about growing up and decided it would be interesting to film it using the same actors for all stages of the story and therefore it took 12 years to complete. The youngest actor was 7 when filming started in 2002, and 19 years old when they finished.
To this point, production companies and filmmakers have always cast different actors at different ages to play the same character in his different stages of life (for obvious reasons, not the least of which it is much less costly and takes far less time to produce a finished product). No one has been willing to wait 5-15 years in order to film a scene or two, if they can find a talented and close-enough-looking actor who can play the younger/older-self of the main character.
What Richard Linklater decided to do with his latest film "Boyhood" is groundbreaking and unheard of. It is a huge commitment with so many risks most filmmakers won't even think of doing.
Check out the trailer of "Boyhood" starring Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane and Patricia Arquette and see how they grow up in front of your eyes. That's some dedication and work ethic.
damn it I've been filming for 10 years with the same concept and he released it first
haha jokes, all I have to say is WOW. Even if I had no interest in the story I would still watch it for the sake of 12 years of work
Director Michael Apted did (and is still doing) a film with an original title of "7-up", begun in 1964, filming the same people every 7 years. Now it's progressed to "56-up".
Except the 7-up series is a documentary, not a movie. The story is about the lives of the participants and they're not actors. This is a fundamentally different concept.
And he shoots with CANON!
And then?
dumb.
Wow what a great idea!
Didn't Kubrick try to do this with his original concept for AI (before Spielberg took it over decades later)? I remember reading somewhere that he had shot some footage and locked it away in a vault to show the family aging over time, but then never really made the movie and eventually Spielberg took it over after his death and started from scratch (which is a shame- I think Kubrick's version would have been more interesting).
If you really want a treat, watch Richard Linklater's trilogy of films; Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight... Each filmed 10 years apart showing the progression of a relationship over a span of 20 years. Also starring Ethan Hawke. This new film looks to be a good one.
2 words.... Harry potter
Two more: Eight movies.
SIMPLY AMAZING ART HERE! NUF-Said!
Well ... THIS ... or it could be done in CGI. I was absolutely amazed about how they managed to make Brad Pitt look older and then younger and younger in Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I love this concept and cannot wait to see the movie! It looks amazing :)