'They're growing up we're aging': Richard Linklater with 'Boyhood' 12 years behind him

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Set us as preferred Prolific and versatile, Richard Linklater has been one of the most joyously unpredictable filmmakers for more than 35 years.From the rambling philosophizing of 1990’s “Slacker,” one of the key films of the American independent film movement, to titles such as the high-school hangout of “Dazed and Confused,” the achingly romantic “Before” trilogy and more recent idiosyncratic projects like “Hit Man,” “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague,” he has crafted relatable characters with a sympathetic eye.

All of his films brim with the stuff of life.“Boyhood” might be the most emblematic of Linklater’s works: emotionally direct and heartfelt but made in an unusual, unprecedented way.Shot over 12 years with the same set of principal actors, the 2014 film features young Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater (the filmmaker’s daughter), who grow up before the viewers’ eyes.

Their parents, Patricia Arquette (who won an Oscar for her performance) and Ethan Hawke gain a wisdom and grace with the passing of time.The film’s greatest special effect indeed becomes time itself, as the cast ages and grows across the course of the story.Recently, the film had a 12th-anniversary screening in Austin, Texas, with the filmmaker, Coltrane, Hawke and Arquette all present.

Here in L.A., the American Cinematheque is giving Linklater a tribute this weekend with screenings of “Boyhood” and 2001’s animated “Waking Life” at the Aero and 1993’s “Dazed and Confused” at the Directors Village in Westwood, all with the filmmaker in person.“Boyhood” is also getting a theatrical release in select art house theaters around the country, including the Alamo Drafthouse chain on Sept.

7.From his farm outside Bastrop, Texas, Linklater, 66, recently got on a video call to reflect on the time-consuming...