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Boyhood – Winners’ Press Conference interview, Film, EE British Academy Film Awards in 2015

8 February 2015

Winners’ Press Conference interview with Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Cathleen Sutherland, John Sloss and Jonathan Sehring for Boyhood in the Film category 

Winners' press conference interview with Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Cathleen Sutherland, John Sloss and Jonathan Sehring (Boyhood) in the Film category

Q.  Please welcome Team Boyhood, winners of best film and best everything tonight!  Congratulations. What would this mean to Richard Linklater, first of all, who can't be here tonight?

ETHAN HAWKE:  I think ‑‑ there's no greater student of the history of cinema than Richard Linklater.  He is passionate about it and it informs everything that he does.  And so the history of the BAFTAs and what the British film community has contributed, he got a chance to speak at the British Independent ‑‑ what are those called?

PATRICIA ARQUETTE:  The British Independent ‑‑                    

ETHAN HAWKE:  He had a chance to speak there, and he dedicated to Lindsay Anderson, because I know Lindsay had a huge compact on the way Richard thinks.  And I just don't think anything would have prepared any of us for such a home spun project to wind up, getting to take the centre stage like that tonight, and what Ellar said, but all these magnificent works of art that are being done.  And this has to be the most delicate ‑‑ it's kind of astonishing that it would receive this prize.  So I just know he would be bowled over in gratitude.

Q.  Ellar, you described yourself there as an actor.  But when you started this 12 or 13 years ago, did you think of yourself as an actor back then, or was it just a lark, something to do?

ELLAR COLTRANE:  Yes, I did definitely at the beginning.  I ‑‑ I was quite an actor ‑‑ when I was young.  It was kind of the middle years where I was like, you know, I stopped really ‑‑ stopped thinking of myself as an actor.  I was definitely always dedicated to this project but, you know, it has come full circle now, so ... you know.

Q.  Any questions for the team?  Yes, please, Russ?

NEW SPEAKER:  Congratulations on a fantastically deserved win. 

Ethan, on stage you paid such a poignant tribute to Richard, not just as a collaborator, but as a friend.  I wonder if you could elaborate on that (inaudible) and the connection that you (inaudible) when you work for him.

ETHAN HAWKE:  Both of us ‑‑ when we first started talking about the DNA of this project, both of us were children of divorce, and both of us had this kind of like mindedness of being shipped back and forth between father and mother, and it often ‑‑ growing up, you're made to feel that there's something wrong with that or that somehow your parents' inability to have a perfect union is representative of you being from a failed marriage or the product of a broken home, or any of that kind of wording that is followed.  And part of the idea for us was, when we first started talking about it, I know Rick kind of wanted to honour parenthood and honour growing up, you know, that ‑‑ the two together, before the ‑‑ the whole Before trilogy is about romantic love meeting time.  And Boyhood was about family love and its relationship over time, and they are kind of two sibling projects in Rick's mind.  And I don't know ‑‑ Does that answer your question?

PATRICIA ARQUETTE:  Can I also just point out, I want to point out who these guys are there because it is very important for our movie.  John Sloss has worked with Richard many, many times.  Since Slacker.  He goes way back.  And so he helped put together Boyhood early on, with Jonathan Sehring, who was the fool at IFC who gave us money even though we had no contract.  So, I mean, the bravest man in show business may be standing here.  And Rick likes to joke, you know, we knew the kid would grow up.  We all gave our word.  He believed he would show up.  But the craziest thing would be that he still would have a job in 12 years.  And Cathleen Sutherland was our producer and on‑set do‑it‑all woman.

CATHLEEN SUTHERLAND:  I do want to say what Patricia was talking about too, that a film like this was such a small intimate film, the fact that it got made, that it took all that time and that everything came to fruition and that we are standing here is just a testament to, you know, people would like to see those stories.  And I hope that in some way this encourages more films, small films, to ‑‑ people to take a risk on it and to take that challenge on.

Q.  I think it will.  I believe there are people downstairs waiting to take your picture so we will say goodbye to you. 

Once again, congratulations to Team Boyhood.

ELLAR COLTRANE:  Thank you.

ETHAN HAWKE:  We would have been more intelligent, but our leaders is MIA.  So forgive us.  We are kind of blown away.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE:  And also we really want to thank the fans.

ETHAN HAWKE:  If people didn't write this movie, we wouldn't be here.  So thank you very much.