Jack Black Didn't Want Richard Linklater to Direct 'School of Rock' at First (Video)

“School of Rock” was a critical and commercial success when it was released in 2003, but star Jack Black was not initially convinced that Richard Linklater was the right person to helm the comedy.

In a clip from PBS’ upcoming film “American Masters: Richard Linklater — dream is destiny,” Black explains that he and screenwriter Mike White didn’t initially see Linklater — known at the time for 1990’s “Slacker,” 1993’s “Dazed and Confused” and 1995’s “Before Sunrise” — as their top pick. Luckily, producer Scott Rudin was able to change their minds.

“We didn’t have Richard in mind,” Black says. “It was Scott Rudin, who said, ‘I really think you guys should consider Richard Linklater.’ And at first, we were like, ‘That doesn’t make sense because this is a ‘feel-good hit of the summer’ type of thing, and we both thought of Richard Linklater as more of an arthouse type of guy. You know, you think ‘Slacker.'”

Also Read: Watch Richard Linklater's Wistful 'Last Flag Flying' Trailer With Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston (Video)

As it turns out, the feeling was a bit mutual, as Linklater explains on the PBS documentary that he himself didn’t at first see “School of Rock” as the right movie for him.

“‘Here’s a script, Jack Black’s attached, what do you think?’ And I was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know how to do this,'” Linklater explains. “I passed. I get a call saying, ‘Well, Scott Rudin the producer isn’t accepting your pass.’ I’m like, What does that mean?’ ‘He wants to talk.'”

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“He was just sure I was the right guy to pull this off,” Linklater continues of Rudin. “I’m like, ‘Well, that’s interesting — you’re not just going through the Rolodex.'”

Check out the clip above.

“American Masters: Richard Linklater — dream is destiny” airs Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.

14 Terrible Adam Sandler Movies Ranked From Bad to Worst (Photos)

The critics have not been kind to Adam Sandler over the years -- but see just how unkind they've been to comedies in which he's taken a lead role.
Netflix
"Sandy Wexler" (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 33%

"There's no way to recommend it, yet I wouldn't ask for my two hours back (though I do wish that they could have been sped up somewhat)" New Yorker critic Richard Brody wrote.
Netflix
"The Week Of" (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 27%

"The best that can be said about 'The Week Of 'is that it at least tacks some heart onto an otherwise stale, mothball-scented set-up," EW critic Chris Nashawaty wrote in 2017.
“Little Nicky” (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 22%

“Like spending 84 minutes in Hell,” critic Christy Lemire wrote when it hit theaters in 2000.
New Line Cinema
“That’s My Boy” (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 20%

“Vulgar, trite, sexist, misogynist, hacky, tacky, gross, sentimental and stupid, with occasional flourishes of racism and veiled homophobia thrown in to boot,” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote in his 2012 review.
Columbia Pictures
“Just Go With It” (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 19%

“An early contender for worst movie of the year. If they were showing this on an airplane, I'd ask for a parachute,” Richard Roeper wrote in 2011.
Columbia Pictures
“Pixels” (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 17%

“A middle finger aimed right at the audience,” The Verge critic Bryan Bishop wrote in 2015.
Columbia Pictures
“Blended” (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 14%

“I felt like it was crushing the soul out of me. But it's still not as bad as Grown-Ups 2,” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote in his review of 2014 movie co-starring Drew Barrymore.
Warner Bros.
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 14%

“Even unrepentant homophobes deserve funnier,” Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips wrote in his 2007 review of movie about two firefighters who pretend to be gay to get benefits of a domestic partnership.
Universal Pictures
“Grown Ups” (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 10%

“I felt a deep sadness every time the audience laughed and the sounds of their chuckles turned into the ringing of the cash register, and all I thought was a grim, simple truth: This, America, is why we can't have nice things,” critic James Rocchi wrote of the 2010 reunion flick starring some of Sandler’s best buddies.
Columbia Pictures
“The Cobbler” (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 9%

“A movie like this, in which not a single scene comes together, in which almost nothing makes you laugh or cry or think, reminds you that it's truly a miracle when movies work at all,” Pulitzer Prize winner Wesley Morris wrote in 2015 about the surprisingly bad film from “Spotlight” director Tom McCarthy.
Image Entertainment
“Grown Ups 2” (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7%

“Yes, it's time for another visit to the Adam Sandler Death-of-Cinema Fun Factory, the big-screen version of a terrible sitcom where laugh tracks are replaced by the co-stars chuckling at their own awful material,” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote about this unnecessary sequel in 2013.
Columbia Pictures
"The Do-Over" (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6%

"It takes a certain blithe self-confidence to take this Scotch-taped-together plot and run it out well past the 90-minute mark," critic Jesse Hassenger wrote.

Netflix
"Jack & Jill"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 3%

“Comedy moved on from the mid-1990s, and it's time Sandler did, too. ‘Jack and Jill’ even gives fart jokes a bad name,” critic Jake Coyle wrote in 2011.
Columbia Pictures
"The Ridiculous Six"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 0%

"Thanks for nothing, Netflix," Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper wrote.
Netflix