Boyhood: Twelve Years on Film

by Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette

In 2002, director Richard Linklater and a crew began filming the “Untitled 12-Year Project.” He cast four actors (Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, and Lorelei Linklater) in the role of a family and filmed them each year over the next dozen years. Supported by IFC Productions, Linklater, cast, and crew began the commitment of a lifetime that became the film, Boyhood . Seen through the eyes of a young boy in Texas, Boyhood unfolds as the characters—and actors—age and evolve, the boy growing from a soft-faced child into a young man on the brink of his adult life, finding himself as an artist. Photographer Matt Lankes captured the progression of the film and the actors through the lens of a 4x5 camera, creating a series of arresting portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs. His work documents Linklater’s unprecedented narrative that used the real-life passage of years as a key element to the storytelling. Just as Boyhood the film calls forth memories of childhood and lures one into a place of self-reflection, Twelve Years on Film presents an honest collection of faces, placed side-by-side, that chronicles the passage of time as the camera connects with the cast and crew on an intimate level. Revealing, personal recollections by the actors and filmmakers accompany the photographs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography

200 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Richard Stuart Linklater is an Academy Award-nominated American film director and screenwriter.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the movie, this book is a reminder that the very best treasure human kind have are memories, those are the only thing that stay perpetually with us, no matter what, they might change with time and change because of our ability to imagine stuff, but they are always there, they keep us alive, they make us human.

This is an excellent companion book for a movie about anything in special, but at the same time, about life itself, it's not a movie about Mason, is a movie about all of us, that's the beauty of it, because, as Ellar says in the book "there is beauty in the mundane".

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. It is true. This is a must-have for all fans of the film.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful compilation of photos showing the years of what it took to make such a wonderful film. The book is mostly of photos and one page stories from each main actor of what they thought about the whole experience. These groups of people got to experience something that very few others get to in life and that is to have the years of growing up put up on the silver screen.

This photography book is done with mostly black back drops of the actors and its crew. The set photographer created this book by pulling the actors away for just a minute while shooting so he could catch that moment in time. Richard Linklater supported this project as well because he knew that what they were all doing was something very special.

If you have never seen this movie you need to sit down with your family and watch it. It truly shows the experience of life right in front of you. This books just adds to those moments that only a camera can see.

[Ansh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a constant reminder to document your journey as much as you can for when you pause and look back, you’ll see how far you have come. Will you be emotional ?? Yes! Will you miss those memories ?? Yessss! But above all you would be happy and would look forward to create more of such memories in thr future !!

[Gilles Douaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion book to the movie. I admire the commitment behind this movie, this book.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful companion to the film