Ethan Hawke’s second documentary will explore the relationship between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Ethan Hawke, who is currently enjoying huge success as the masked menace in Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone, has had an eclectic career behind the camera. Co-writing the screenplays for the last two films in the Before trilogy with Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater, he has also directed five films to date. Only one of these was a documentary, 2014’s Seymour: A Life, which chronicled the life and career of classical composer Seymour Bernstein.
Now, he has returned to the form to direct The Last Movie Stars. Hawke worked from hours of interviews Paul Newman commissioned from friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern for a project he then abandoned. Those who were interviewed include Elia Kazan, Sidney Lumet, Karl Malden, Sidney Pollack, Gore Vidal, Jacqueline Witte, Joanne Woodward, along with Newman himself.
Newman had the tapes destroyed, but luckily they were transcribed, and it is from these pages that Hawke created his six hour documentary.
For The Last Movie Stars, Hawke has enlisted a star studded cast to bring the transcripts to life. George Clooney and Laura Linney take on the voices of Newman and Woodward, with other roles being taken by Oscar Isaac, Melanie Griffith, Sam Rockwell, Billy Crudup, Sally Field, Zoe Kazan, Karen Allen, Steve Zahn, and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
It is due to land on HBO Max on July 21st. There is no word on a UK release date yet, but we’ll keep you updated. Watch the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lJpu8l5BTc
Variety
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