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Ethan Hawke’s comparison is about what a film makes you feel afterward—not which kind of movie is better. He says he loves Star Wars and Harry Potter, even as their fantastical worlds can leave him wishing he were a Jedi or wizard. A Richard Linklater film, by contrast, can send viewers home thinking their own lives are interesting.
What did Ethan Hawke say?
In a RogerEbert.com interview about the Before trilogy, Hawke described the contrasting after-effects of fantasy films and Linklater’s work. Viewers might leave Avatar or Harry Potter feeling that their own lives are boring, he said. But, “And you walk out of a Richard Linklater film and you think, ‘You know, my life is pretty interesting!’”
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A separate interview report published by Yahoo Entertainment captures the other half of the idea. Hawke said he loves Harry Potter and Star Wars, but “when they are over, I feel slightly disappointed that I’m not a wizard or a Jedi.” The joke is affectionate: he is describing the appeal of being transported into an extraordinary world, not dismissing the franchises.
Why make that comparison?
The contrast is between two kinds of audience after-feeling. Star Wars and Harry Potter invite viewers into worlds of extraordinary abilities, danger and adventure. Hawke’s phrasing captures the playful wish to belong in those worlds. Linklater’s films, as Hawke describes them, can instead make the viewer look back toward everyday life with renewed interest.
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That difference also reflects a contrast in story focus. The Before films follow Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters as they grow older, giving relationships and the passage of time room to matter. The appeal is not that ordinary life is uneventful; it is that conversations, choices and changing relationships can be compelling subjects in their own right.
How the Before trilogy makes the idea concrete
Hawke’s clearest formulation came in a discussion centered on the Before trilogy. Its focus on characters across different stages of life helps explain why he connects Linklater’s work with a sense that one’s own life is interesting. Rather than asking viewers to imagine becoming a wizard or Jedi, the films can draw attention to the emotional weight of ordinary encounters and the way people change over time.
Rank #2
- THE PHANTOM MENACE(PG),A NEW HOPE(PG),ATTACK OF THE CLONES(PG),THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK(PG),REVENGE OF THE SITH(PG-13)and RETURN OF THE JEDI(PG)
This is an interpretation of the effect Hawke describes, not a claim that every viewer responds the same way. His point is that Linklater’s films can make lived experience feel worth noticing.
Star Wars also appears in Boyhood
The franchises and everyday life are not mutually exclusive in Linklater’s films. PBS NewsHour describes a Boyhood scene in which Hawke’s character talks with his son about a possible future Star Wars movie. The reference places the franchise inside a father-son conversation and the film’s generational texture; it does not mean Boyhood adapts Star Wars.
Hawke has also praised Linklater’s command of film history. At a BAFTA Boyhood press conference, he said, “there’s no greater student of the history of cinema than Richard Linklater.” That praise offers context for their collaboration, but the comparison with fantasy franchises remains about how a film can shape a viewer’s feelings about their own life.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The point is contrast, not a ranking
Hawke’s remarks allow for both pleasures: the thrill of imagining life in a fantastical universe, and the recognition that real relationships and the passage of time can make strong cinematic subjects. He says he loves the franchises. His distinction is that Linklater’s films may leave viewers not wishing they were someone else, but more curious about the lives they already have.
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Sources
- Yahoo Entertainment report on Hawke’s remarks about independent films, tentpoles, and wishing he were a wizard or Jedi. The exact publication date was not available.
- RogerEbert.com interview about the Before trilogy and Hawke’s description of how Linklater films can make viewers feel about their own lives.
- PBS NewsHour feature describing the Boyhood father-son conversation about a possible Star Wars movie.
- BAFTA transcript of the Boyhood press conference, including Hawke’s praise of Linklater’s knowledge of cinema history.
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