Houston-born, award-winning filmmaker Richard Linklater, known for letting time shape his films \u2014 sometimes stretching production over multiple years \u2014 says he plans to film the fourth section of his 20-year project, \u201cMerrily We Roll Along,\u201d starring Paul Mescal, in a few months, adding, \u201cSee you in 2040.\u201d<\/p>\n
The film, based on the 1981 musical by Stephen Sondheim, follows a talented composer of Broadway musicals who abandons his Broadway career to become a Hollywood producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. During the Zurich Film Festival,\u00a0Linklater updated Variety reporters<\/a> about the status of his project.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Merrily We Roll Along” is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S.\u00a0Kaufman and Moss Hart.\u00a0<\/p>\n A recent Broadway revival starred Daniel\u00a0Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez and won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Linklater said he would be working with Mescal, Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt, filming over 20 years to mirror the story’s decades-spanning timeline.<\/p>\n Linklater is no stranger to long-term film productions.<\/p>\n Linklater helped define American independent cinema with films such as “Slacker” and “Dazed and Confused.”<\/p>\n He’s also known for long film productions, such as “Boyhood,” which he filmed over 12 years. His “Before” trilogy, starring Austin native Ethan Hawke and French actress Julie Delpy, was filmed nine years apart to use the actors’ real ages to mirror the movie couple’s changing relationship.<\/p>\n