Marissa Ribisi: When I first saw the film, I was like, Is that what I look like? I’m never seeing this fucking movie again! It was like, That’s how I talk? That’s what my chin does? Like, everything! I cried when I first saw the movie.
One day I said to my kids, “Okay guys, I’m gonna show you the movie I did when I was 17.” And for the first time ever, it was like, “Oh my god, what was I thinking? I was so fucking cute! Why did I think those crazy things?”
Ben Affleck: Now I see pictures of Rick, and he has gray hair. I’m like, “How the fuck did we get so old?” I still kind of half expect to see that kid from Dazed looking back at me in the mirror, and there’s a middle-aged guy there.
Jason London: It’s strange to see yourself immortalized at that permanent age. You don’t realize what you have in the moment. It’s years and years before you realize what you had, and what an incredibly special time it was.
Renée Zellweger: Of course I’m nostalgic for that time. Life in Austin in the early ’90s, there was nothing better. It was still a small town, and everybody was given a shot. It felt like a very easy time to be creative and express yourself with whatever it is that you want to be part of. Like, “Let’s start a band!” Or: “We’re going to build this bike park, because we don’t have a place to ride our BMX bikes.” It was a really rich time to be a young person in Austin. And I think Rick really tapped into that. I’m so grateful to have been part of that community at that time. It still feels like it’s what defines me.
Adam Goldberg: It’s hard not to want to go back. A year after that movie was made, I was sad that we were getting further away from that time, and now almost 30 years have passed. I mean, we’re talking about a much bigger issue here. We’re talking about aging and dying. I can’t even have an emotionally connected conversation about it because it’s way too depressing.
Jason London: One of the hardest things about watching Dazed for me is that when I watch the movie now, I know that my sister hadn’t died yet when I made it. So, the spirit that I had, the energy that I had, I look back on that and I think, it’ll never be that way again.
Adam Goldberg: Nothing will ever be that exciting again. I won’t ever come home from an audition and say, “I got it,” and have that mean what it meant back then. I won’t have that sense of optimism, or that sense of joy, again. Now, when I want to do a movie, it’s like, they want me to go to Canada, but I’ve got my kids, and I have to leave on Halloween, and do I really want to do this? It becomes that.
Ben Affleck: My brother made me a lovely gift when Dazed and Confused came out. He framed the New York Times black-and-white double-truck ad for the movie that had all the reviews. This was back when that kind of thing was a serious expense for us. I hung it up in my room. And I still have it to this day.
In fact, to this day, I still have the original Dazed and Confused poster that Rick gave us, the one that he wanted to use, with the car and the yearbook photos. I only have two posters of my own movies up anywhere in my office or house. One is Argo, and one is Dazed and Confused. When I made Argo, I had all the people who played the hostages live together in the house, to create the effect that we had had on Dazed and Confused, where everybody was living together and working together. I experienced something totally revolutionary with Dazed, and it stayed with me for the rest of my life. It helped define my own philosophy of filmmaking.
There is no movie that has affected me more, or stayed with me longer, or shaped me as a filmmaker more. And I never ever, ever, had as much fun again. Now, years later, I see that it was probably the most profound creative experience of my life.
Anthony Rapp: It’s my favorite movie I’ve ever worked on.
Catherine Avril Morris: It was the best summer camp ever.
Deena Martin-DeLucia: It was the best summer of my life.
Matthew McConaughey: There’s nothing like the first movie. The first time really is as pure as possible.
Kahane Cooperman: Everyone has such good memories of that time. Except Rick.
Richard Linklater: You know, if you talk to any boxer who won any championships, they always say, “It’s not the championship fight that made me who I was. I became who I was in some fight along the way that no one even would recognize as important. That’s the one that made or broke me.” There’s always that moment where your whole life could have gone either way at that moment, and that’s how Dazed goes down in my book. It was a 15-round bout, but it didn’t kill me. I survived. And so did my movie.
Epilogue
Sandra Adair has worked consistently with Richard Linklater since Dazed and Confused. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Film Editing for Boyhood in 2015.
Joey Lauren Adams continues to act. She wrote and directed the film Come Early Morning in 2006, and her second feature film, Star Theater, is currently in development.
Ben Affleck won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting in 1998, and another one for Best Picture for Argo in 2013. He continues to act.
Shawn Andrews was unavailable to be interviewed for this book. According to IMDB, the last film he appeared in was the 2012 indie My Little Hollywood.
Autumn Barr is a singer-songwriter and works in the music industry.
Robert Brakey continues to edit. He’s known for his work on All I Wish, The Throwaways, and The Runaways.
Lisa Bruna works in marketing and communications.
Jonathan Burkhart is a film and television producer and a co-founder of the Nantucket Film Festival.
John Cameron is an Emmy-winning television producer. He’s best known for his work on the TV series Friday Night Lights and Fargo.
Rory Cochrane continues to act. He’s known for playing Tim Speedle on CSI: Miami. He last worked with Richard Linklater on 2006’s A Scanner Darkly.
Kahane Cooperman has won multiple Emmys for her work as a producer on The Daily Show. Her short documentary Joe’s Violin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017. She continues to direct and produce documentary films and non-fiction series.
Lee Daniel has worked as a cinematographer on documentaries such as You’re Gonna Miss Me and The Dungeon Masters. He last worked with Richard Linklater as a director of photography on 2014’s Boyhood, though he left the project around 2010.
Sean Daniel is a motion picture and television producer. He is currently producing the Amazon series The Expanse, the Netflix series The Witcher, and the feature Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with Guillermo Del Toro.
Valerie DeKeyser runs her own design firm.
Katherine Dover is semi-retired from her career as a costume supervisor for film and television. Her work has been featured on such series as Criminal Minds and American Horror Story.
Greg Finton is an Emmy-nominated and ACE-Eddie award-winning editor. He’s best known for his work on documentaries such as Waiting for “Superman,” He Named Me Malala, and Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.
Heyd Fontenot works as a visual artist.
Jeremy Fox works in tech.
John Frick writes screenplays and lectures about production design at the University of Texas and Texas State University. In 2019, he worked with Richard Linklater on the design of a replica of the Dazed and Confused moon tower, which was installed in the Pompidou Center in Paris for a retrospective of Linklater’s work.
Sheri Galloway continues to edit, though she plans to retire soon and “tool around the country” in her RV. She last worked with Richard Linklater on 1995’s Before Sunrise.
Harry Garfield has retired from working at Universal. He has since been focused on making an album of eco-minded children’s songs under the name Mother Earth Toons, and developing a corresponding animated series.
Erika Geminder Drake works as a chef instructor and a children’s yoga teacher.
Holly Gent and her husband, Vincent Palmo Jr., are screenwriters. They have co-written three of Richard Linklater’s films: 2008’s Me and Orson Welles, 2019’s Where’d
You Go, Bernadette, and his upcoming, as-yet-untitled biopic of the con man John Brinkley. Palmo has also been Linklater’s assistant director for more than 25 years.
Adam Goldberg continues to act. He has also written and directed three films: 1998’s Scotch and Milk, 2003’s I Love Your Work, and 2015’s No Way Jose. He last worked with Linklater on 2001’s Waking Life.
Chrisse Harnos is the executive director of the charitable organization Circus Remedy, which brings circus performers to children’s hospitals, refugee camps, and war zones. She recently co-produced Halo of Stars, a feature film that is set against the backdrop of a traveling circus.
Samantha Hart owns and operates Wild Bill, a creative studio where she produces and directs branded content. She is the author of the book Blind Pony.
Cole Hauser continues to act. He plays Rip Wheeler on the Paramount Network series Yellowstone.
J.R. Helton is a writer who has published several books. His movie memoir, Below the Line, published in 2000, includes a detailed recounting of his experience working on Dazed and Confused.
Christin Hinojosa-Kirschenbaum works in social justice and environmental activism.
Tracey Holman teaches art to middle school students. She credits her experience as an extras costumer on Dazed for inspiring her to teach art to teens.
Don Howard is a Guggenheim fellowship-winning filmmaker. He also works as an associate professor in the Radio/Television/Film school at the University of Austin.
Jim Jacks died in his home from a fatal heart attack in 2014, after producing such films as Tombstone and The Mummy. He was 66. At the end of Richard Linklater’s film Everybody Wants Some!!, the director paid tribute to his former adversary: “In Remembrance: Jim Jacks, a guy who loved movies.”
Nina Jacobson is an Emmy-winning producer and founder of the production company Color Force. She’s best known for her work on the Hunger Games films.
Robert Janecka works as a gaffer on commercials and the occasional film.
Katy Jelski has been working as a writer, a director, and a script supervisor.
Sasha Jenson owns the film rights to Rin Tin Tin and is currently co-producing a feature about the character.
Milla Jovovich continues to act. She plays Artemis in the 2020 film Monster Hunter, directed by her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson.
Nicky Katt continues to act. He has appeared in multiple films by Richard Linklater, including 1996’s SubUrbia, 2001’s Waking Life, and 2003’s School of Rock.
Priscilla Kinser-Craft runs a shop that sells vintage and collectible items. She credits Dazed for inspiring her love of everything vintage.
Kim Krizan is an Academy Award–nominated writer. She co-wrote Before Sunrise with Richard Linklater and received a co-story credit on Before Sunset.
Jason Lee continues to act. In 2019, he appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, alongside his Dazed friends Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck.
Richard Linklater has been nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset in 2005, Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Midnight in 2014, and Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Boyhood in 2015. He serves as the Artistic Director of the Austin Film Society.
Tricia Linklater continues to work in film, in the post-production sound department.
Jason London continues to act. He plays Jack in the horror feature Campton Manor. He is also helping his twin brother, Jeremy London, teach acting classes in Mississippi.
Deena Martin-DeLucia co-runs a charitable organization. She is also a Christian minister.
Matthew McConaughey won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club in 2014. He continues to act.
Peter Millius is the CEO of Flowency, a digital currency company, and the founder and chairman of InnoVet, a veteran-operated business delivering digital engineering solutions to make the world a safer place.
D. Montgomery passed away in 1997. Linklater dedicated his 1998 film The Newton Boys to her, with a postscript: “We miss you, D.”
Catherine Avril Morris works as a romance novelist and freelance writer and editor.
Christopher Morris works in theater in Austin.
Kelly Nelson stopped working in 2016, after she was injured on a job and developed a disability. She misses doing hair.
Justin O’Baugh is a lieutenant at the Pedernales Fire Department in Texas.
Deb Pastor worked for many years as a tour manager for rock bands such as Pavement, Dirty Three, and Sebadoh. She now serves as development and communications manager at a nonprofit that enhances water quality and riparian habitat.
Kari Perkins continues to work as a costume designer. She has worked consistently with Richard Linklater since Dazed and Confused.
Don Phillips has retired from casting. The last film he worked on was 2008’s Surfer, Dude, which starred Matthew McConaughey.
Tom Pollock died from a heart attack in 2020. He was 77.
Parker Posey continues to act. She recently played Dr. Smith in the Netflix series Lost in Space. She last worked with Richard Linklater on 1996’s SubUrbia.
Esteban Powell says he “trolls the internet for low-paying jobs to make up for his lack of health insurance.”
Anthony Rapp continues to act. He plays Lt. Cmdr. Paul Stamets on the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery.
Marissa Ribisi is raising two teenagers.
Russell Schwartz is a co-principal at Pandemic Marketing Group.
Jason Davids Scott is the interim director and associate professor of Film at the New American Film School at Arizona State University.
Shana Scott is a founder and content creator at mOdat Video Productions. In 2008, she won a Daytime Emmy for her work as a segment producer on The Tyra Banks Show.
John Swasey is a voice actor. He’s best known for his work in the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist, Black Butler, One Piece, and Evangeleon.
Michelle Burke Thomas builds houses. She’s also a writer and producer.
Mark Vandermeulen practices real estate law.
Heidi Van Horne works as an actress and producer. She also writes a column about classic cars for the Houston Chronicle and other Hearst Media publications.
Clark Walker last worked with Richard Linklater on 2004’s Before Sunset. He also co-wrote The Newton Boys with Linklater. He and Anne Walker-McBay are no longer married.
Anne Walker-McBay runs a home care business. She last worked with Richard Linklater as an associate producer on 2014’s Boyhood.
Deenie Wallace works as a web developer and is creating virtual reality experiences.
Wiley Wiggins studies media art and design at UCLA. He last worked with Richard Linklater on 2001’s Waking Life.
Bill Wise continues to act. He last worked with Richard Linklater on 2014’s Boyhood.
Renée Zellweger won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain in 2004, and another one for Best Actress for Judy in 2020. She continues to act.
Author’s Note
Oral histories often make it seem as if dozens of interconnected people happened to sit down at the same table, in the same bar, on the same night, and, rather spontaneously, started exchanging stories while the bartender secretly recorded them. Obviously, that’s not how it works. This book is the result of one-on-one interviews that I conducted with nearly 150 people, several of whom were interviewed multiple times between July 2018 and February 2020. Many of those interviews happened in person. Some were conducted over the phone. Some quotes were sent over email. Occasionally, people responded directly to others’ quotes, but only after I read those quotes to them. Most of these interviews were edited and condensed for the sake of brevity and clarity.
I’ve also relied on letters, memos, drafts of the script, and other archival documents that were provided to me by the interviewees. In a few of the introductions to individual chapters, I’ve quoted outside sources—they’re cited at the end of the book. Where I’ve pulled quotes from video footag
e, I’ve sometimes condensed them. All of the other quotes came from my own reporting, with one exception. Dazed and Confused producer Jim Jacks passed away four years before I started working on this book. Journalist and author Brian Raftery graciously allowed me to quote from an interview he recorded with Jacks in 2003. None of the quotes I’ve used from that interview have ever appeared in print before.
In the years since Dazed was first released, many of the women in this book have gotten married and changed their last names. I’ve referred to them by their current, married names throughout the book, except in the chapter introductions, when I’m talking about the early 1990s.
There are still a few voices missing from this book. Shawn Andrews and Milla Jovovich were unavailable to be interviewed in time for my deadline, according to Andrews’s publicist and Jovovich’s manager. A few of the interviewees in this book reached out on my behalf to Dazed and Confused co-producer Anne Walker-McBay and director of photography Lee Daniel, but they both declined to participate. Second assistant cameraman Clark Walker sent a single email, from which I reprinted a single, essential quote.
Lastly, despite repeated attempts to contact the actor Jason O. Smith, who played Melvin in the movie, I was not able to reach him. Jason, if you’re reading this, I’d still love to talk to you. Email me at [email protected].
Acknowledgments
When I first emailed Richard Linklater to tell him I wanted to write this book, he told me he was kind of sick of talking about Dazed. But he admitted that he had “a weakness/sympathy for writers/artists trying to do anything in this world they’re passionate about.” Over the course of the next year and a half, he ended up meeting with me in person, on multiple occasions, including the 25th anniversary of the movie in Austin, and for a while, he regularly called me on nights and weekends for lengthy conversations about, say, his baseball stats in high school, or the songs that played on the jukebox of his local pool hall. All of this happened while he was juggling multiple projects of his own. Some of our best conversations took place over the phone, late in the evening, while he was driving back home after a long day of work. I’m extremely grateful for his honesty, his memory, and his time.
Alright, Alright, Alright Page 38