Richard Linklater On ‘Hit Man’ Premiering In Venice, Cinema’s “Existential Threat”, And Lessons Learned Over 30 Years Of Filmmaking
deadline.comOn its surface, a comedy about a college professor who becomes a phony hitman for the police department to catch criminals hoping to whack a stubborn spouse or bothersome business associate might seem an odd fit for a European festival noted for heavy dramas and extended runtimes.
It helps, of course, that Hit Man, which premieres at Venice Film Festival this evening, is directed by Richard Linklater, a noted master of independent filmmaking for more than 30 years, and that initial reactions to it have been universally effusive.
Linklater was in a reflective mood when I met him on the morning of the film’s premiere, perhaps buoyed by word from the previous evening’s press and industry screenings of the film.
Hit Man was a project Linklater had mused on for years, he told me, from the moment he first read Texas Monthly’s 2001 article about Gary Johnson, who had helped Houston police catch would-be criminals seeking a hitman’s services.
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