Alright Alright Alright The Oral History of Richard Linklaters Dazed and Confused

This oral history of Richard Linklater's legendary flick, Dazed and Confused, is an endlessly fascinating look into the production of a film that launched and ended so many careers. Recommended By Eric L., Powells.com

Richard Linklater's classic high school flick, Dazed and Confused, launched the careers of actors like Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, and Matthew McConaughey, whose role as the legendary (and rather creepy) Wooderson made famous the titular line, "Alright, alright, alright." All of the stories in the book are firsthand accounts from the director, actors, crew, and friends filled with joyous memories and juicy gossip. Maerz's book is fun for anyone curious about the history of independent film production and a must-have for any fans of Linklater's body of work. Recommended By Eric L., Powells.com

The definitive oral history of the cult classic Dazed and Confused, featuring behind-the-scenes stories from the cast and crew and written with the cooperation of Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater.

Dazed and Confused not only heralded the arrival of filmmaker Richard Linklater, it introduced a cast of unknowns who would become the next generation of movie stars. Embraced as a cultural touchstone, the 1993 film would also make Matthew McConaughey's famous phrase — alright, alright, alright — ubiquitous. But it started with a simple idea: Linklater thought people might like to watch a movie about high school kids just hanging out and listening to music on the last day of school in 1976.

To some, that might not even sound like a movie. But to a few studio executives, it sounded enough like the next American Graffiti to justify the risk. Dazed and Confused made almost no money at the box office and seemed destined to disappear. Then something weird happened: Linklater turned out to be right. This wasn't the kind of movie everybody liked, but it was the kind of movie certain people loved, with an intensity that felt personal. No matter what their high school experience was like, they thought Dazed and Confused was about them.

Alright, Alright, Alright is the story of how this iconic film came together and why it worked. Combining behind-the-scenes photos and insights from nearly the entire cast, including Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and many others, and with the full cooperation of Linklater himself, it offers an inside look at how a budding filmmaker and a cast of newcomers made a period piece that would feel timeless for decades to come.

"Fun reading….A must for fans of the movie and readers interested in the moviemaking experience." Booklist (Starred Review)

"A charming oral history of everyone's favorite stoner film....Essential for fans of the film but also for anyone with ambitions to work in film on either side of the camera." Kirkus (Starred Review)

"An intricate oral history...any cinephile would be happy to check out." Publishers Weekly

Melissa Maerz has worked as an editor at Spin and Rolling Stone, a staff writer for Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times, and a supervising producer on HBO's Vice News Tonight. She was a founding editor at New York magazine's Vulture website. She lives in Portland, Oregon.