The idea for the movie came from the backgrounds of both Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan. Linklater spent a night walking around Philadelphia with Amy, a woman he randomly met. Krizan rode around Europe on trains meeting people and on one trip met a Norwegian man on the way to Paris, and ended up walking around the city all night much like Before Sunrise (1995). Krizan has never revealed whether or not they had a romance that night and they lost contact.
Linklater and Amy stayed in touch for a while, until contact was lost and he never heard from her again. It was not until 2010 that Linklater found out that Amy had died in a traffic accident before the release of Before Sunrise (1995), the first film in the trilogy. Krizan has never re-connected with the Norwegian man that was her inspiration for the famous night of walking around a European city.
Linklater and Amy stayed in touch for a while, until contact was lost and he never heard from her again. It was not until 2010 that Linklater found out that Amy had died in a traffic accident before the release of Before Sunrise (1995), the first film in the trilogy. Krizan has never re-connected with the Norwegian man that was her inspiration for the famous night of walking around a European city.
Richard Linklater left out subtitles but in the opening sequence, the couple on the train is actually arguing in German. The man is reading in his newspaper how 70,000 women are addicted to alcohol. The script translated the squabble as follows: "You're one of them," he says to his wife. She volleys back, saying he's the alcoholic. "I have a reason to do it. I'm married to you!" he retorts.
In 2012, Hawke told The Guardian he and Delpy performed "controlled improvs" about what Jesse could say to convince her to come with him. Delpy mentioned Celine would only get off the train for someone who was funny and smart. "We finally came up with this idea that I was a time traveler," Hawke said. "She was like, 'Okay, that I would get off the train for.'"
When Richard Linklater first considered casting Ethan Hawke, he thought that the actor was too young for the part. Linklater saw Hawke at a play in New York City and reconsidered after talking to the actor.
Unlike Before Sunrise (1995), which did not credit the screenwriting contributions of Hawke and Delpy, the two stars received writing credits for the sequels, and as a result, were nominated for two WGA awards and two Oscars.