When Disney downsized the bulk of Miramax's employees and announced that the company would be reducing its output to only three or so films a year, it was assumed that the next product slated to go into production -- the Richard Linklater romantic comedy Liars (A to E) -- would be safe from the scythe. After all, Linklater finished casting leads Rebecca Hall and Kat Dennings two months ago, and the story (which found Hall and Dennings visiting Hall's exes on a road trip to retrieve lost items) offered plenty more juicy roles for actors.
Alas, when I talked to Linklater today, the greenlit project had suddenly run into a red light. "It's no longer happening, unfortunately," Linklater confirmed. "It didn't really work out. It's tough."
As a result, Linklater has found himself unexpectedly unemployed. "I don't think I have anything coming up!" he said. "Everybody asks me about School of Rock 2, and that's not really happening. It's not on the front burner. Mike White was writing on it a long time ago, but it's become dormant."
The School of Rock sequel had been buzzed about online as of late (White's Gentlemen Broncos press tour probably contributed to that), but Linklater said the spike of interest doesn't correlate with its likeliness to happen. "I'm surprised to hear all this. I saw Jack [Black] the other night, and we talk about it. We're not gonna do it just to do it. Let's just say it's still kind of on the backburner and it's no one's next project." ♦