Linklater comes out of left field with college baseball flick

By Ivanna Ihekwoaba, April 14 2016 —

We’re all familiar with the university experience — the rewarding feeling of handing in a final paper you didn’t procrastinate on. The three-hour lectures where you’re so captivated with the professor’s teaching that you wish the lecture would never end. The pure satisfaction of studying for a midterm worth 40% of your grade, guided by your belief that knowledge is power.

If you’re a typical university student, chances are these scenarios are nothing more than fiction. That’s why Richard Linklater’s latest film, Everybody Wants Some, aims for a realistic portrayal of American campus life — and it’s full of frat parties, hangovers, missed due dates and, of course, baseball.

Linklater is known for films like Boyhood and Before Sunrise, both of which focus on how the passage of time affects personal relationships. But his latest work is a meandering coming-of-age flick set in the ‘80s that follows American college baseball players on their last weekend of summer.

In preparation for the movie, Linklater housed the cast in a 50-acre ranch in Bastrop, Texas. They bunked and played baseball together, which actor Tyler Hoechlin says helped develop relationships between each actor’s characters.

“I think the most rewarding thing is the friendship made out of it. It’s rare to have a cast that gets along so well throughout the entire process,” Hoechlin says. “All these guys are so talented and so creative and I was looking forward to working with them.”

Blake Jenner, best known for his role in Glee, plays the lead role in the film. He thinks that current students will still find parallels to their own life, even though the movie is set three decades ago.

“The external things like the music and the clothes and the haircuts changes with time, but growing up and figuring out who you are, that all stays the same,” Jenner says. “And that’s a big way that students can relate to this film.”

Hoechlin thinks post-secondary is valuable because it introduces students into the real world.

“That’s the beauty of college, you’re sort of introduced to the world in a larger scale, but with a safety net of academic and structure,” Hoechlin says.

Everybody Wants Some is playing in Calgary at Eau Claire Market Cinemas starting on April 15.