It makes perfect sense that filmmaker Richard Linklater and actor Glen Powell found each other. Powell hails from Linklater country — Austin, Texas — and has the movie-star looks and Texan swagger that the director’s always been drawn to (see: Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke). In the new film Hit Man, directed by Linklater and co-written by Linklater and Powell, the actor delivers his most charismatic turn yet as Gary Johnson, a university professor who moonlights as an undercover cop posing as a hitman, arresting the lost souls who hire him. When...
- 9/5/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
While Richard Linklater's 1994 film "Dazed and Confused" may stand out, even now, as one of the great cinematic representations of '70s adolescence, it's possibly more notable for its massive cast. Nearly every actor in the movie was on the eve of their own personal stardom, with most to blow up in the year or two following the movie. It's a testament to the work of legendary casting director Don Phillips that this crew of soon-to-be celebrities came together. One particular discovery gave the movie its most famous character.
"Dazed and Confused" was Linklater's first studio film, and Phillips ensured it would...
The post The Chance Meeting that Landed Matthew McConaughey His Dazed and Confused Role appeared first on /Film.
"Dazed and Confused" was Linklater's first studio film, and Phillips ensured it would...
The post The Chance Meeting that Landed Matthew McConaughey His Dazed and Confused Role appeared first on /Film.
- 3/23/2022
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Casting director and producer Don Phillips, who helped launch the careers of such actors as Sean Penn, Matthew McConaughey and Mary Steenburgen, passed away on Thanksgiving Day from natural causes. He would have turned 81 on Dec. 21.
Phillips received his first break when he landed an entry-level job in the casting department of filmmaker Otto Preminger’s 1971 movie Such Good Friends. Impressed by Phillips, Preminger took an ad in Variety and Backstage to praise the novice’s work on the film.
The acknowledgement led to Phillips getting hired to do extras casting on Sidney Lumet’s Serpico starring Al Pacino with his job subsequently expanding to casting the entire film. Lumet then tapped him as casting director on his next film, Dog Day Afternoon, also starring Pacino. Phillips is credited with holding out for actor John Cazale to be cast opposite Pacino as Sal.
Phillips went on to cast the cult...
Phillips received his first break when he landed an entry-level job in the casting department of filmmaker Otto Preminger’s 1971 movie Such Good Friends. Impressed by Phillips, Preminger took an ad in Variety and Backstage to praise the novice’s work on the film.
The acknowledgement led to Phillips getting hired to do extras casting on Sidney Lumet’s Serpico starring Al Pacino with his job subsequently expanding to casting the entire film. Lumet then tapped him as casting director on his next film, Dog Day Afternoon, also starring Pacino. Phillips is credited with holding out for actor John Cazale to be cast opposite Pacino as Sal.
Phillips went on to cast the cult...
- 11/27/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Video Version of this Article Photo/Video: Matthew McConaughey/Focus Features/ Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel Early Life into Acting Most people are familiar with Matthew McConaughey and his films. He’s won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in addition to being nominated for an additional Golden Globe and two Emmys. McConaughey has been in the industry for three decades, but he didn’t grow up thinking he’d become an actor. In an interview with the SAG-atra foundation, McConaughey describes attending the University of Texas with an eye on becoming a lawyer. A timely intervention of encouragement from a friend, S.R. Bindler, and coming across the book The Greatest Salesman in the World, inspired McConaughey toward film school. While in film school, McConaughey landed a few commercials and his debut in film with Dazed and Confused. He learned about the film while he was at a bar. The...
- 11/4/2020
- by Drew Alexander Ross
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
In 1994, 23-year-old Kevin Smith became the toast of Park City, Utah, as his debut film, Clerks, earned the Sundance Film Festival’s Filmmakers Trophy. Smith quickly joined the ranks of fellow Sundance stars, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, as ‘90s independent film became an industry-changing movement. Naturally, there was a lot of interest in Smith’s follow-up to Clerks, and he was quickly approached by Raising Arizona and Dazed and Confused producer, James Jacks, about making his second film with Universal’s Gramercy Pictures. From there, the script for Mallrats was soon completed.
As Smith started to cast the film, acclaimed casting director, Don Phillips, asked ...
As Smith started to cast the film, acclaimed casting director, Don Phillips, asked ...
- 10/13/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In 1994, 23-year-old Kevin Smith became the toast of Park City, Utah, as his debut film, Clerks, earned the Sundance Film Festival’s Filmmakers Trophy. Smith quickly joined the ranks of fellow Sundance stars, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, as ‘90s independent film became an industry-changing movement. Naturally, there was a lot of interest in Smith’s follow-up to Clerks, and he was quickly approached by Raising Arizona and Dazed and Confused producer, James Jacks, about making his second film with Universal’s Gramercy Pictures. From there, the script for Mallrats was soon completed.
As Smith started to cast the film, acclaimed casting director, Don Phillips, asked ...
As Smith started to cast the film, acclaimed casting director, Don Phillips, asked ...
- 10/13/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the keys to the longevity of Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” a love letter to 1970s rock and roll, is the film’s effortless cool. The iconic image of corkscrew-curled Kate Hudson in bell-bottoms and faux fur tossing up a peace sign was so emblematic of the era that it made the then-unknown actress into a movie star. But after 20 years, Crowe tells Variety, he’s ready to reveal the film’s biggest secret — he and the two actors who played a version of the director in this loosely autobiographical tale are deeply uncool.
“If it’s uncool to show your endless enthusiasm and appreciation, then viva uncool,” Crowe says of the film, which opened in movie theaters in the fall of 2000. “Because just to sit and talk with my Williams here is the coolest uncool thing ever. And they’re the maestros of the uncool.”
In “Almost Famous,...
“If it’s uncool to show your endless enthusiasm and appreciation, then viva uncool,” Crowe says of the film, which opened in movie theaters in the fall of 2000. “Because just to sit and talk with my Williams here is the coolest uncool thing ever. And they’re the maestros of the uncool.”
In “Almost Famous,...
- 10/6/2020
- by Meg Zukin
- Variety Film + TV
What does the American dream mean to you? Hardworking folk just want the job and the house and the family as promised in the ‘old’ Contract With America that began to slip out of reach in the 1970s. To examine the social absurdities at the tacky end of the consumer divide, Bo Goldman and Jonathan Demme’s marvelous film follows Melvin Dummar, a luckless a guy who became an involuntary media sensation. You just want to hug plucky Paul Le Mat and adorable Mary Steenburgen, even though there’s not a thing to be done for them: going to ‘Easy Street’ isn’t so easy, not even after being named in a billionaire’s Last Will and Testament.
Melvin and Howard
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1980 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Elizabeth Cheshire, Pamela Reed,...
Melvin and Howard
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1980 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Elizabeth Cheshire, Pamela Reed,...
- 4/23/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Everything you know about Matthew McConaughey, every Matt Damon impression, True Detective quote and shirtless meme you’ve seen for the last 10 years and through the McConaissance, all stems from Richard Linklater’s 1993 classic Dazed and Confused. As David Wooderson, it was McConaughey’s very first film role, and not only was he perfect casting, his performance and mannerisms in this very movie have defined his entire career. If you’re Daniel Radcliffe, you desperately want to shake your early perception. But if you’re McConaughey, you just keep livin’.
And now to see just how far he’s come, The Criterion Collection has dug out from the archives a brief video of McConaughey’s audition tape with actor Wiley Wiggins and casting director Don Phillips. Needless to say, it’s fantastic; he nails it just walking in the door, but I think he’d get more chicks if he took his shirt off.
And now to see just how far he’s come, The Criterion Collection has dug out from the archives a brief video of McConaughey’s audition tape with actor Wiley Wiggins and casting director Don Phillips. Needless to say, it’s fantastic; he nails it just walking in the door, but I think he’d get more chicks if he took his shirt off.
- 1/13/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
If there was any doubt that the Oscar-season engine is roaring, events, Q&As, screenings and all that jazz is at a fever pitch — and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. Today’s big moment belonged to reigning Best Actor winner Matthew McConaughey, who got his star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame followed by a lavish lunch at Spago in Beverly Hills hosted by Paramount Chairman Brad Grey and attended by his Interstellar co-stars Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain (who was excited to sit next to Martin Landau and hear his Actors Studio stories) and Mackenzie Foy, along with director Christopher Nolan and producer/wife Emma Thomas and brother Jonathan, with whom he co-wrote the screenplay. Oh, and did I forget to mention Paramount also invited scores of Academy members to celebrate with Matthew? His family including kids and wife Camila Alves were at the ceremony, and Alves also came...
- 11/18/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
Since making his big-screen debut more than 20 years ago in "Dazed and Confused," Matthew McConaughey has taken Hollywood by storm.
The Texas-born actor was practically a leading man from the get-go, starring in critically-acclaimed dramas before topping the box office in a flurry of romantic comedies. And then the McConaissance began. McConaughey transformed himself for a role in "Dallas Buyers Club," won his first Oscar -- and then nearly won an Emmy for "True Detective," too. Now, the actor continues his hot streak by starring in Christopher Nolan's space epic "Interstellar."
From his early days shooting armadillo to his love for bongo drums, here are 35 things you probably don't know about Matthew McConaughey.
1. Matthew David McConaughey was born November 4, 1969 in Uvalde, Texas to Mary Kathleen McCabe and James Donald McConaughey.
2. His mother is a former kindergarten teacher, while his father ran an oil supply business.
3. McConaughey's father was also...
The Texas-born actor was practically a leading man from the get-go, starring in critically-acclaimed dramas before topping the box office in a flurry of romantic comedies. And then the McConaissance began. McConaughey transformed himself for a role in "Dallas Buyers Club," won his first Oscar -- and then nearly won an Emmy for "True Detective," too. Now, the actor continues his hot streak by starring in Christopher Nolan's space epic "Interstellar."
From his early days shooting armadillo to his love for bongo drums, here are 35 things you probably don't know about Matthew McConaughey.
1. Matthew David McConaughey was born November 4, 1969 in Uvalde, Texas to Mary Kathleen McCabe and James Donald McConaughey.
2. His mother is a former kindergarten teacher, while his father ran an oil supply business.
3. McConaughey's father was also...
- 11/7/2014
- by Jonny Black
- Moviefone
Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive producer of the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, announced today that Matthew McConaughey, who starred this year to critical acclaim in Roadside Attractions’ “Mud” and Focus Features’ “Dallas Buyers Club,” will be honored with the Hollywood Actor Award. The honor will be bestowed at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 21st, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. “Already acclaimed for his risk-taking work, Matthew McConaughey now achieves a career-defining performance portraying Ron Woodroof in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ It is a privilege to honor him for this role and celebrate his achievement,” said Mr. de Abreu. The 2013 Hollywood Film Awards has also announced that it will be honoring the prolific and legendary producer Jerry Weintraub with the “Hollywood Legend Award,” Academy award-nominated actor Harrison Ford with this year’s “Hollywood Career Achievement Award,” Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock with the “Hollywood Actress Award,...
- 10/2/2013
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
Dazed and Confused
Directed by Richard Linklater
Written by Richard Linklater
1993, USA
Richard Linklater’s follow-up to Slacker, Dazed and Confused, flopped at the box office, but Dazed and Confused went on to become a huge cult hit. It’s set somewhere in suburban Middle America (filmed in Texas) on May 28, 1976, on the last day of school, and everyone’s looking for something exciting to do. First, however, the incoming freshmen students must spend the day fleeing from bizarre initiation rituals from paddle-wielding, abusive seniors – while everyone else does their best to get stoned or get laid. Set over the course of 24 hours, Linklater’s observations about the rituals of teenage life, and about small town mentality, is spot on – as is his attention to the smallest details of time and place. The camera swerves between some two dozen youngsters and a handful of stories, but Linklater keeps everything and everyone on the same level.
Directed by Richard Linklater
Written by Richard Linklater
1993, USA
Richard Linklater’s follow-up to Slacker, Dazed and Confused, flopped at the box office, but Dazed and Confused went on to become a huge cult hit. It’s set somewhere in suburban Middle America (filmed in Texas) on May 28, 1976, on the last day of school, and everyone’s looking for something exciting to do. First, however, the incoming freshmen students must spend the day fleeing from bizarre initiation rituals from paddle-wielding, abusive seniors – while everyone else does their best to get stoned or get laid. Set over the course of 24 hours, Linklater’s observations about the rituals of teenage life, and about small town mentality, is spot on – as is his attention to the smallest details of time and place. The camera swerves between some two dozen youngsters and a handful of stories, but Linklater keeps everything and everyone on the same level.
- 9/11/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
It may be tough to get a consensus reaction to Bernie. The latest Texas-based film from Richard Linklater changes tones throughout as it moves from comedy, dark comedy, to trial farce. The fact that it’s actually based on a real story of murder and regret is troubling to realize as you laugh and you begin to question whether someone who committed such a terrible crime is really troubled or just had a very bad day. I had the opportunity to sit down at SXSW for a roundtable interview with Linklater and Matthew McConaughey as we discuss the tone, meeting Bernie and the other real-life counterparts, and much more.
In some of your best movies you play a lawyer. There’s The Lincoln Lawyer, A Time to Kill, Amistad…and you wanted to be a lawyer originally?
Matthew McConaughey: I did. That’s where I was heading, and then...
In some of your best movies you play a lawyer. There’s The Lincoln Lawyer, A Time to Kill, Amistad…and you wanted to be a lawyer originally?
Matthew McConaughey: I did. That’s where I was heading, and then...
- 4/26/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
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