Director Richard Linklater praises, blasts ‘crazy’ Texas

Texas native, Austin resident and esteemed filmmaker Richard Linklater is the subject of PBS documentary “Richard Linklater — dream is destiny,” debuting Sept. 1. Texas native, Austin resident and esteemed filmmaker Richard Linklater is the subject of PBS documentary “Richard Linklater — dream is destiny,” debuting Sept. 1. Photo: Detour Films Photo: Detour Films Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Director Richard Linklater praises, blasts ‘crazy’ Texas 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater of “Boyhood” and “Dazed and Confused” fame said he loves writing about and filming in Texas, where there’s “no shortage of big, crazy characters.”

“I have a script I’m working on now that touches into Texas. It’s a true story that will be somewhere down the line that kind of touches on demagoguery and … con men, let’s say,” Linklater, a Texas native and Austin resident, told TV critics via satellite during a PBS session Sunday.

Robert Downey is slated to star in “The Untitled John Brinkley Project,” which is based on the true story of Dr. John Brinkley, a charlatan who scams his way to fame and fortune using fake medicine, populism and the media.

Linklater’s primary reason for talking to critics, however, was an upcoming American Masters documentary about his life and work, “Richard Linklater — dream is destiny.”

As the doc, which debuts Sept. 1 on PBS, shows, Linklater was born in Houston and grew up in the much smaller town of Huntsville. He suspended his educational career at Sam Houston State University in 1982 to work on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and raise funds to pursue his dream of making movies. He eventually moved to Austin and helped create a film scene there, starting with his first critical success, “Slacker.”

“Austin, I found very pleasant, and all of Texas I found very easy to make films in,” he told us. “Some cities are harder than others. Try making a film in Paris. It’s beautiful, but they don’t really want to help you much there. Even your own lab processing your film doesn’t care about you. …But I kid a little bit.”

However, Linklater wasn’t joking when he criticized Texas politicians for skimping on tax breaks and other incentives that would draw more movies and TV shows in the state and create more jobs here.

“I had a great experience there a long time ago,” he said. “Texas, it’s kind of hard times. There’s this competition state to state with the incentives and everything, and Texas has kind of chosen to dial back pretty significantly. I think our government has shifted, so that sort of speaks for itself.”

This lack of support for filmmakers was one reason he went elsewhere to film “Last Flag Flying,” starring Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell.

The movie, which premieres this fall, was filmed in Pittsburgh, Linklater said, “because that state is committed to this industry.”

In fact, he’s currently filming another feature in the Pennsylvania city, crediting the state’s economic incentives and welcoming feel. That movie, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” stars Cate Blanchett.

“Once your budget gets above a certain amount, it’s hard to make the argument that my local crew will pay for itself once you start talking over a million dollars,” he said. “It’s kind of boring on one hand, but it does affect people’s lives. So I wish Texas would get on it, but who knows?”

Jjakle@express-news.net