Richard Linklater’s Bernie Opening The LA Film Festival

With the recent return to the big screen of his beloved debut, Slacker, and the impending Blu-ray release of his equally huge hit, Dazed And Confused, Richard Linklater is set to see the premiere of his newest film in a matter of weeks.

The LA Film Festival has revealed that his next film, Bernie, will open this year’s festival on June 16.

The film stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, and follows the story of a man who befriends an elderly woman, which itself is based off of a true life story out of East Texas, described as a story closely resembling that of a film like Fargo. The festival will close with Troy Nixey’s equally intriguing horror film, Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark on the 26^th.

With a fantastic cast and an interesting premise, Bernie is one of 2011’s more intriguing little projects, one that’s been gestating for quite some time.   Linklater has been steadily pumping out films over the past few years, but while they’ve been of relatively high quality, they haven’t had much in the way of financial footing.   Hopefully this one could change that.   It definitely sounds like it could be one hell of a black comedy.

Source: TOH