Photo: Sundance
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired “Before Midnight” for distribution in North America and the UK. The third in the series after “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset,” the Richard Linklater-directed Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy romance debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival to strongly positive reactions.
In a statement, Sony Pictures Classics hailed Linklater as “a film master at the peak of his form” and called “Before Midnight” a “perfect movie made by not one but three auteurs, Rick [Linklater], Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy.” The director and stars have shared screenwriting credits on the last two films.
“Before Midnight” picks up nine years after “Before Sunset,” itself set nine years after “Before Sunrise.” The evolving romance between Hawke's Jesse and Delpy's Celine led to the first two films, and now the series, being hailed by critics and audiences as one of the great screen romances. This latest installment is due to be released in 2013, although a specific date has not yet been set.