Waking Life (2001)

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer (WGA):

Richard Linklater (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Philosophy | Tango Music | Dream Sequence | Surrealism

Awards:

5 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Trevor Jack Brooks	...	Young Boy Playing Paper Game
Lorelei Linklater	...	Young Girl Playing Paper Game
Wiley Wiggins	...	Main Character
Glover Gill	...	Accordion Player
Lara Hicks	...	Violin Player
Ames Asbell	...	Viola Player
Leigh Mahoney	...	Viola Player
Sara Nelson	...	Cello Player
Jeanine Attaway	...	Piano Player
Erik Grostic	...	Bass Player
Bill Wise	...	Boat Car Guy
Robert C. Solomon	...	Philosophy Professor
Kim Krizan	...	Herself
Eamonn Healy	...	Shape-Shifting Man
J.C. Shakespeare	...	Burning Man
Ethan Hawke	...	Jesse
Julie Delpy	...	Celine
Charles Gunning	...	Angry Man in Jail
David Sosa	...	Himself
Alex Jones	...	Man in Car with P.A.
Otto Hofmann	...	Himself
Aklilu Gebrewold	...	Himself
Carol Dawson	...	Coffee Shop Chatter
Lisa Moore	...	Coffee Shop Chatter
Steve Fitch	...	Chimpanzee
Louis Mackey	...	Himself
Alex Nixon	...	Man Writing a Novel at the Bar
Violet Nichols	...	Woman Talking to the Novel Writer
Steven Prince	...	Man Talking to the Bartender
Ken Webster	...	Bartender
Mary McBay	...	Woman on TV
Kregg A. Foote	...	Man on TV
Jason T. Hodge	...	Man with the Long Hair
Guy Forsyth	...	Himself
John Christensen	...	Guy Talking about Turning the Light on in Dreams
Caveh Zahedi	...	Himself
David Jewell	...	Man Talking to Caveh
Adam Goldberg	...	One of Four Men
Nicky Katt	...	One of Four Men
Jason Liebrecht	...	One of Four Men (as E. Jason Liebrecht)
Brent Green	...	One of Four Men
R.C. Whittaker	...	Man on the Lamppost (as RC Whittaker)
Hymie Samuelson	...	Mr. Debord
David Martínez	...	Man on the Train (as David Martinez)
Ryan Power	...	Young Disappearing Guy
Tiana Hux	...	Soap Opera Woman
Timothy 'Speed' Levitch	...	Himself (as Speed Levitch)
Steve Brudniak	...	Goatee Man
Marta Banda	...	Friendly Girl
Steven Soderbergh	...	Interviewed on television
Charles Murdock	...	Old Man
Mona Lee Fultz	...	Quiet Woman at Restaurant (as Mona Lee)
Edith Mannix	...	Older Artist in the Park
Bess Cox	...	Old Woman Sitting for a Portrait
Louis Black	...	Kierkegaard Disciple
Richard Linklater	...	Pinball Playing Man / Man on Back of Boat
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kierstin Cunnington	...	Goth Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Linklater

Writing credits (WGA)
Richard Linklater		(written by)

Produced by
Caroline Kaplan	....	executive producer
Tommy Pallotta	....	producer
Jonathan Sehring	....	executive producer
John Sloss	....	executive producer
Jonah Smith	....	producer
Anne Walker-McBay	....	producer
Palmer West	....	producer

Original Music by
Glover Gill		(original score by)

Cinematography by
Richard Linklater		(camera)
Tommy Pallotta		(camera)

Film Editing by
Sandra Adair

Casting by
Lizzie Curry Martinez		(as Lizzie Martinez)

Art Direction by
Bob Sabiston

Production Management
Patrick Lindenmaier	....	post-production supervisor: HDTV

Sound Department
Ethan Andrus	....	sound mixer
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Wayne Bell	....	additional sound mixer
Wayne Bell	....	sound editor
Larry Blake	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mike Brennan	....	boom operator
Matt Coby	....	re-recording assistant
Cathy Crane	....	sound assistant
Jay Gallagher	....	re-recording assistant
Tom Hammond	....	sound designer
Tom Hammond	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Hammond	....	sound supervisor
Bryan Pennington	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Jason Piatt	....	foley recordist

Visual Effects by
Bob Sabiston	....	animation software

Stunts
Bobby Sargent	....	stunts
Jeff Schwan	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Blum	....	grip
Matt Fliehler	....	grip (as Matthew Fliehler)

Animation Department
Jason Archer	....	animator
Paul Beck	....	animator
John Bruch	....	animator
Jean Caffeine	....	animator
Zoe Charlton	....	animator (as Zoë Charlton)
Randy Cole	....	animator
Kate Dollenmayer	....	animator
Jennifer Drummond	....	animator
Rahab El Ewely	....	animator (as Rahab El Ewaly)
Pat Falconer	....	animator
Holly Fisher	....	animator (as Holly Louise Fisher)
Dan Gillotte	....	animator
Nathan Jensen	....	animator
Matthew Langland	....	animator
Mike Layne	....	animator (as Michael Layne)
Travis Lindquist	....	animator (as Travis C. Lindquist)
Chris Minley	....	animator
Katy O'Connor	....	animator
John Paul	....	animator
Shannon Pearson	....	animator
Eric Power	....	animator
Bob Sabiston	....	animator
Susan Sabiston	....	animator
Katie Salen	....	animator
Divya Srinivasan	....	animator
Patrick Thornton	....	animator
Penny Van Horn	....	animator
Mary Varn	....	animator
Rosie Weaver	....	animator (as Rosie Q Weaver)
Wiley Wiggins	....	animator
Constance Wood	....	animator
Charles Harrison	....	animation intern (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lindsay Doleshal	....	casting assistant
Julia Halperin	....	casting assistant
Charlotte Wood	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
Courtney Fitzgerald	....	editorial intern
Aliza Gold	....	editorial intern
Nancy Higgins	....	editorial intern
Sara Johnson	....	post-production assistant
Jerry Poynton	....	digital film transfer: Swiss Effects (as Jerome Poynton)
J. Kevin Smith	....	consultant: Final Cut Pro
Andrea Tucker	....	editorial intern

Music Department
Tosca Tango Orchestra	....	music performer

Other crew
Peter Atherton	....	location manager
Laine Bateman	....	production assistant
Dave Bennett	....	production accountant (as David Bennett)
Paul Brennan	....	legal services: Sloss Law Office LLP
Matthew Cook	....	office intern
Cathy Crane	....	office manager: Detour Filmproduction
Jennifer Drummond	....	credits
Monica Estrada	....	office intern
Deborah Fabish	....	office intern
Erin Ferguson	....	production coordinator
Jennifer Gaylord	....	legal services: Sloss Law Office LLP
Tracie Laymon	....	office intern
Scot Markland	....	craft service
Fernando Martinez	....	office intern
Morgan Miles	....	production accountant
Bob Sabiston	....	credits
John Sloss	....	legal services: Sloss Law Office LLP
Kyle Summerville	....	office intern
Kelly Williams	....	production assistant

Thanks
Paul Beutel	....	special thanks: Paramount Theatre for Performing Arts
Monica Caivans	....	special thanks
John Christensen	....	in memory: [super perfundo on the early eve of your day]
Scott Conn	....	special thanks
Vicki Faust	....	special thanks
Bruce Haufler	....	special thanks
Jaymee Hewitt	....	special thanks
Chris Humphrey	....	special thanks
Ben Johnston	....	special thanks
James Lambert	....	special thanks
Eric Lanoix	....	special thanks
Mike Lind	....	special thanks
Amy Lowrey	....	special thanks
Phillip McNutt	....	special thanks
Chale Nafus	....	special thanks (as Charles Nafus)
Bob Ondarza	....	special thanks
Gary Price	....	special thanks
Trina Quinn	....	special thanks
Scott Rhodes	....	special thanks
Ben Saffer	....	special thanks
Luke Savisky	....	special thanks
Ferrell A. Shinnick	....	special thanks (as Ferrell Shinnick)
Edward L. Shirley	....	special thanks
Matt Slimmer	....	special thanks
Mari Beth Tackett	....	special thanks
K. Treadway	....	special thanks
Tchiya Amet Vela	....	special thanks
Clark Walker	....	special thanks (as Clark Lee Walker)

Production Companies

• Fox Searchlight Pictures (presents)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (present) (as The Independent Film Channel)
• Thousand Words (present)
• Flat Black Films (producer)
• Detour Filmproduction (producer)
• Line Research

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2001) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2001) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2002) (Far East) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2002) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2002) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Netherlands Fox Film Corporation (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (Russia)

Other Companies

• 501 Group  special thanks to
• 503 Coffee Bar  special thanks to
• American Cleaners  special thanks to
• Badabing Badaboom Productions  foley recorded at (as Badabing Badaboom Productions, Inc. Burbank, CA)
• Bluebonnet Kitchen  special thanks to
• Caldwell County Museum  special thanks to
• Flightpath Coffeehouse  special thanks to
• Highlife Cafe  special thanks to
• Holy 8-Ball Studios  special thanks to
• LaLa's  special thanks to
• Long Horn Railway  special thanks to
• Mercury Hall  special thanks to
• Monarch Food Mart  special thanks to
• Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas  special thanks to (as Paramount Theatre for Performing Arts)
• Pronto Food Mart  special thanks to
• Quack's 43rd Street Bakery  special thanks to
• Ritz Lounge, The  special thanks to
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG)  special thanks to (as Screen Actors Guild)
• Sloss Law Office  legal services provided by
• Soundcrafter  pre-mixed at (as Soundcrafter, Austin, TX)
• Speakeasy  special thanks to (as Speak Easy)
• Spider House  special thanks to
• Swelltone Labs  final mix (as Swelltone Lab, New Orleans, LA)
• Swiss Effects  digital film transfer
• Swiss Effects  electronic post production: HD

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent images.

Runtime:

99 min | Argentina:100 min | Australia:101 min | Germany:100 min | Spain:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:R (No. 38276) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:Livre | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Finland:K-7 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

The whole film was shot and edited into a complete live-action version before animation began.

Quotes:

Pinball Playing Man: There's only one instant, and it's right now. And it's eternity.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)

Soundtrack:

Ballade 3

A mind expanding experience.

I greatly enjoyed Waking Life, I was most impressed by the animation and the philosophical dialog that just kept hanging on the characters' every word. This movie is not for everyone, at least not for those who like their films 'light'. The fact is that Waking Life consists mostly of the main character discussing philosophical topics with various colorful characters. At some point it was difficult to remain concentrated to everything the characters say, for they were rambling quite discoursively, making the audience feel like they're attending a lecture. But the animation makes up for that, because the film has so much visual content that one could also watch it with out the dialog, just being immersed in the art.

I'm not an expert in philosophy, I've just taken one beginners class, although i am interested in the topic. In reply to complaints condemning the film pretentious or complaining that it's philosophical ideas are old or overused. I'd say that Waking Life, rather than trying to reinvent philosophical theories, tries to present these ideas in the form of a film the same way as Jostein Gaarder's book 'Sophie's World'. It could in that way function as a sort of 'window' into the world of philosophy, a first touch. I'd hesitate calling it a beginners guide to philosophy as the language is demanding, especially for non natives. But on my part, I feel having expanded my horizons, by experiencing Waking Life. This movie can be enjoyed on many levels, and also a whole spectrum of interpretations can be drawn from it, watch it and see what it makes you feel.