It is, for so many reasons, gutting that Amy Lehrhaupt passed away at such a young age under such tragic circumstances — so it’s understandable that Richard Linklater was devastated when he learned the news. Speaking to The Times, Linklater said that Lehrhaupt’s sister got in touch with him after hearing the story behind “Before Sunrise” and told him about the accident. “It was very sad,” he told the outlet.
Linklater also revealed elsewhere that he always secretly hoped Lehrhaupt might come back into his life thanks to the film that she inspired. In an interview with The New York Times in 2004 with his stars (and co-writers) Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Linklater said that he knew that his evening with Lehrhaupt would make an incredible movie, which it ultimately did, but that he always wondered if she might seek him out.
“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 as the three discussed “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. 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.”
