Jack Black, Richard Linklater Open LA Film Fest with True Tale Black Comedy Bernie

The other welcome surprise in Bernie comes in the form of Matthew McConaughey, another previous Linklater performer, who plays local D.A. Danny Buck, the only person in town who seems to see anything wrong with what Tiede's done. McConaughey, it should be noted, doesn't remove his shirt a single time; by coincidence, he turns in a finely-tuned performance playing quirks like Buck's outdated wire-rimmed glasses, cowboy hat, and air of ignorant disbelief as if they were bongos.

And then there are the locals, the actual Carthage residents weighing in on Tiede's warmth, eccentricity, sexuality, proclivity for befriending lonely old widows, and yen for buying everything in a store just to give it all away. They're not just actors turning on the drawl for the camera; these are Tiede's neighbors and friends, full of genuine charm and down-home humor, and their gossipy testimonies bring authenticity to the story's complexity and, well, insanity.

"Rick's had this thing in his head for 13 years," Black said, introducing the film's world premiere screening. "Anyone have the patience to work on a thing for 13 years?"

It may have taken Linklater over a dozen years to bring Bernie to fruition, but as he told Movieline on the LA Film Fest red carpet, those years were entirely necessary. For starters, he didn't always envision Black for the Tiede role. "More recently, like in the last five years, I started thinking about him," Linklater told Movieline. "He kind of aged into the part, as did Shirley. You know, I thought about Shirley a long time ago, but she was really too young for the part; they both sort of aged into their parts a little more."

"It's timing," he said with a smile. "Things work out."

Linklater offered brief updates on a few projects that have been bandied about, including a potential Dazed and Confused sequel. He described his idea for it as not being a continuation of the 1993 high school comedy but rather simply a college-set tale ("That was my high school, this is my college"). As for The Incredible Mr. Limpet, which Linklater has reportedly been in talks to possibly direct, he waved off any sort of official confirmation and said it was still so early in the process that he'd only had one meeting to discuss it so far.

Meanwhile, Bernie is currently seeking distribution at the fest. More as it develops...

See who else hit the red carpet on opening night of the L.A. Film Festival here and check back through the week for all of Movieline's coverage!

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