Richard Linklater

So I thought technically he's probably annoying, but for one night, you know, you'll be glad you were near him.

So that was sort of the conceit.

Yeah, I'll be pushing 80, apparently.

So, you know, tempting fate and hoping to get lucky.

But, you know, you got to proceed through this life like things are going to work out and you're going to be doing what you're doing.

God, it's so funny hearing you describe what Merrilee is about.

And funny, I was developing Blue Moon before we jumped forward with Merrilee.

But at some point, it did cross my mind.

Oh, this is similar territory with the composer-lyricist relationship.

And Sondheim is in both.

He's a 12-year-old little Stevie shows up.

It's hilarious.

In Blue Moon.

Well, he was – Oscar Hammerstein was practically his father.

They lived in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and Statenheim.

loved Oscar so much he said if he was a plumber I would have been a plumber when they talk about he I learned everything I you know from him which is you know I think an exaggeration of course but there it is and I got to know Sondheim of course he was very generous and letting me adapt that musical to film and he had great ideas and he was just a wonderful person to get to know and

And I'm so lucky.

And I was looking forward to the day I could tell him, oh, hey, Steve, I'm making this movie.

And just so you know, your little 12-year-old self, you're in one scene.

Is that OK?