Jesse and Celine’s True Story Will Move You to Tears

It is gut-wrenching for so many reasons that Amy Lehrhaupt passed away at such a young age under tragic circumstances. So, it’s understandable that Richard Linklater was devastated when he learned about her untimely demise. Speaking to The Times, Linklater shared that Lehrhaupt’s sister reached out to him after hearing the story behind “Before Sunrise” and informed him about the accident. “It was very sad,” he expressed.

Linklater also revealed elsewhere that he had always secretly hoped Lehrhaupt might re-enter his life because of the film she inspired. In a 2004 interview with The New York Times, featuring his stars (and co-writers) Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Linklater mentioned that he knew his evening with Lehrhaupt could make an incredible movie, and it ultimately did. However, he always wondered if she might seek him out one day.

“You know, the very first movie was made—I mean, my acorn of an idea way back then was, I met this woman in Philadelphia,” Linklater said while discussing “Before Sunset,” the trilogy’s second movie. “And we spent a night walking around. And it was great. And I was thinking, ‘This could be a movie.’ Filmmaker’s curse. I’m walking around going, ‘If I could just capture this feeling I’m having right now,’ instead of actually having that feeling.”

He reminisced further, “But I always thought maybe she would show up at a ‘Before Sunrise’ screening or something. She never did. But I always expected, ‘Oh, hi, I’m Amy. Remember me?’ It would be so weird.”

Source: The Times, The New York Times