There are few filmmakers who’ve ever made me want to start a band, quit school, and maybe make a film about it afterwards. Richard Linklater is one of them.
This Saturday, I’ll be on the London Film Festival red carpet to meet the man himself the director who gave us School of Rock, Before Sunrise, and Boyhood now returning with something completely different: his new film, Nouvelle Vague. And honestly? I’m not sure who’s more excited me, or the army of critics pretending to be cool about it.
🎸 The School of Rock Generation Grows Up
For my generation, School of Rock wasn’t just a film it was a lifestyle. It taught us that being passionate about something wasn’t cringe, that rebellion could be joyful, and that the right teacher (even if he was technically a fraud with a guitar) could change your life.
So, when you hear that the same director who gave us that electric, heart-thumping anthem to creativity is now making a film called Nouvelle Vague literally “New Wave” it feels like a full-circle moment.
The scrappy DIY spirit that School of Rock preached? That’s pure French New Wave energy. The message back then was: “You don’t need permission to create.” And that’s still very Linklater — a filmmaker who’s always done things his own way, from shooting Boyhood over twelve years to making rotoscoped dreams in Waking Life.
🎥 What We Know So Far
Nouvelle Vague is set between Paris and Austin (because of course it is) and follows a group of young filmmakers trying to figure out what cinema means in a world run by algorithms and streaming stats.
Early whispers suggest it’s part documentary, part fiction, and 100% Linklater talky, philosophical, warm, and a bit nostalgic. Basically, a film about filmmaking that’s also about growing up and not losing the spark that made you fall in love with movies in the first place.
If School of Rock made us believe in ourselves, Nouvelle Vague might be the pep talk we all need now that adulthood has replaced battle-of-the-bands energy with morning emails and oat lattes.
🪞 Why It Feels Personal
Maybe that’s why I’m so excited to see it and to meet him. Linklater’s films have always been quietly life-changing, not because they’re loud or flashy, but because they get it. They understand how time feels, how conversations linger, how small choices become everything.
And now, twenty years after School of Rock, he’s asking what happens when the rebels grow up. How do you keep creating when the world’s moved on?
It’s a question that hits, especially if you ever picked up a guitar or a camera because a film told you that you could.
🎟️ London, Let’s Rock
So, yes this Saturday, I’ll be there on the LFF red carpet, trying to play it cool while internally screaming “You’re the guy who made School of Rock!”
I’ll be chatting to Linklater about Nouvelle Vague, creativity, and why we still need new waves in cinema. If all goes well, I’ll bring you the full interview and maybe a few behind-the-scenes stories (and if I panic and ask him about Jack Black, we’ll just pretend that was part of the plan).
Either way stay tuned. Because whether it’s through guitars, handheld cameras, or just good conversation, Richard Linklater always finds a way to remind us why we fell in love with stories in the first place.