Linklater Directs "Fast Food Nation"

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Fox Searchlight on 'Fast Food' binge
Sunday December 18 7:42 PM ET

Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to "Fast Food Nation."

Directed by Richard Linklater, the film is a dramatic character study about the fast-food industry based on Eric Schlosser's nonfiction best-seller. A 2006 release is planned.

The ensemble cast includes Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama. It was shot in Mexico, Texas and Colorado.

Linklater, who met Schlosser four years ago when the author came through Austin on a book tour, said: "The idea that came out of our meetings was that the movie would not be a documentary but a character study of the lives behind the facts and figures. I'm more interested in fiction than nonfiction. You get to the point through human storytelling."

Linklater's recent credits include "School of Rock" and "Before Sunset," for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter