20 Movies That Took HUGE Risks (And NAILED It)

Richard Linklater's coming-of-age drama Boyhood is one of the most ambitious and mind-boggling works of cinema ever pulled off, for while it didn't require cutting edge visual effects or a massive budget, it did require long-term commitment from its central cast.

Boyhood was shot over a period of 12 years to capture the growth of protagonist Mason (Ellar Coltrane) in real-time, Linklater reconvening with Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and several other key cast members once a year for a few weeks of filming.

Though Linklater had a broad idea of the overall storyline, he only wrote the material for each year in the lead-up to shooting, while permitting the cast to make contributions.

It goes without saying that Boyhood could've so easily been a disastrous failure. 

While Linklater said that he intended to work any potential issues, like an actor's death, into the story, what would he have done if, say, Ellar Coltrane simply decided to quit the film a few years in?

Thankfully shooting went smoothly by most accounts, and Boyhood was finally released in 2014 to universal acclaim, receiving six Oscar nominations and winning a well-earned Best Supporting Actress gong for Arquette.

Never one to be outdone, though, Linklater is currently shooting an adaptation of the musical Merrily We Roll Along, with production to be completed over 20 years to accurately show the characters ageing over time. Wild.