Ethan Hawke is nerding out on Zoom with some of his fellow actors early in The Last Movie Stars, a long form documentary that manages to be both satirical and amusing, smart and deeply emotional. Both individually and collectively, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are the focus of Hawke’s next film, and they are the topic of their admiration and lovable zeal.
Fans may imagine they are knowledgeable about everything given how long they were in the spotlight as actors, directors, producers, and philanthropists—their marriage lasted 50 years, and their careers even longer. Although there is no prepackaged treatise to support it, this insightful investigation of the couple’s creative partnerships and off-screen relationship is full of surprises and comes down to the heart of the matter.
Hawke’s distant theatrical meeting is more than simply an opportunity to gush over idols during the pandemic. The majority of them are actors in his production, speaking in Newman’s (George Clooney), Woodward’s (Laura Linney), and their respective characters’ own words as distilled by Hawke from a revelatory work of source material: a memoir that Newman started but never finished.
Working with Rebel Without a Cause screenwriter Stewart Stern in the 1980s and 1990s, Newman amassed a vast collection of interviews with acquaintances, coworkers, and even his first wife. Then, for an inexplicable reason, he had a change of heart and destroyed every audiotape. Stern’s transcriptions were just lately found, and Hawke has wisely used them. (This fall, the autobiography is anticipated to be released.)
The series is not just haunting, but also celebratory over the course of its six hours (the half-dozen episodes each last about an hour, with the final chapter being the longest at an hour and 20 minutes), and is filled with recollections of unsung victories and forgotten nooks of the filmographies and stage work.
The Last Movie Stars, whose third and fourth episodes are airing in Cannes, will delight fans of all stripes (the first chapter was presented at SXSW). The complete series will air later this year on HBO Max and, most likely, CNN (it was previously planned for the short-lived streamer CNN+). Whatever fest stops are still in store.
Clea Newman, a TV producer and postproduction consultant (Big Little Lies), who is the youngest child of Newman and Woodward, contacted Hawke about filming the documentary (she did so at the request of Emily Wachtel, who lead the project along with her fellow producers Lisa Long Adler and Adam Gibbs). She, along with three of her four sisters, is one of the documentary’s key Zoom interviewees. The inclusion of the actors’ offspring gives dimension, clear-eyed and sincere, just like in other recent documentaries that humanise entertainment superstars. Even when studying Newman’s most well-known film performances, Hawke frequently chooses less obvious, eye-opening pieces; all of it is fashioned with a deft touch by Hawke and editor Barry Polterman. Hawke’s collection of footage and stills, both public and private, is constantly interesting.
Given that Newman and Woodward grew up during the height of the Performers Studio and the Neighborhood Playhouse—he was a student of the former, she of the latter—Hawke recruited many actors to read from the memoir transcripts and some other material. This was an appropriate option. She recalls her hate-at-at-sight reaction to “this band-box creature” in a seersucker suit when they first met in 1953 as understudies on the Broadway production of Picnic, and it’s amusing to hear her describe it.
She moved on from the Playhouse to a tonne of TV work before her Oscar-winning, star-making presentation in 1957’s The Three Faces of Eve (a medium to which she would return, prolifically, in later years). He had a rather difficult time establishing himself in Hollywood and frequently had to compete with James Dean for roles. His big break had come to him when he was cast in the Rocky Graziano biopic Somebody Up There Likes Me to take Dean’s spot after the actor passed away. According to all accounts, particularly Newman’s, Woodward was the superior actor, but his career would soon overtake hers.
According to many accounts, including her own, motherhood was a major factor in her inability to pursue long-term commitments to high-profile movies. It is striking and admirable to hear Woodward’s unrepentant ambivalence about this trade-off in both her own voice and in readings by Linney. Woodward became more home-centered after her marriage to Newman, which was the result of a five-year romance she had with him while he was married to Jackie McDonald. She developed bonds with the three kids from his former marriage while they were raising their three daughters together.
The chats Hawke has with Stephanie Newman, the couple’s youngest child, serve as a painful reminder of the untold tales of prominent men’s first spouses. She requests that the director take into account her mother’s “unbearable story” of being an aspiring actor who, in quick succession, watched her husband’s new wife win an Oscar. In contrast to some accounts, Stephanie’s is more of a plea for compassion. Woodward’s dedication to her blended family is evidenced by the fact that she has her stepmother’s name inked on her inner arm. I taught ’em how to drive properly,” admits Newman, who is frequently heard being harsh on himself or perhaps just brutally honest. Most likely, that’s the limit of my parenting.
Another admission reinforces one of the documentary’s main points—that Woodward’s work ought to be more widely known. Zoe Kazan, who plays Jackie McDonald, claims she doesn’t recall ever having seen a Woodward movie. Many viewers of The Last Movie Stars will undoubtedly be motivated to search streaming services for Rachel, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds, A Kiss Before Dying, The Stripper, The Fugitive Kind, and Signpost to Murder (all directed by Newman, with the latter winning the best actress prize at Cannes).
Snippets of their onscreen interactions have a scorching, poignant pull in contrast to the documentary’s narrative of the couple’s off-screen struggles (unspecified affairs, Newman’s drinking, his troubled son), from their young beauty in The Long Hot Summer and From the Terrace to their later work in Winning, WUSA, an ambitious political drama that failed, and Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, their last big-screen project.
On numerous occasions, Newman is overheard musing over his existence and pondering whether or not he has a coherent identity or only a stringed-together collection of people and events. Early on, critics of the cool façade, such as Ben Gazzara and Elia Kazan, predominated over enthusiasts. Newman’s biggest part, Hud, was directed by Martin Ritt (voiced by Jonathan Marc Sherman), who thought that his “withholding was going to turn him into a movie star.” Sidney Poitier, who co-starred with Newman in Paris Blues, is reported as saying that some actors have a hypnotic quality, but Hawke deduces that Poitier didn’t find it in Newman.
Although Hawke builds to a powerful section on Newman’s performance in The Verdict in his late 50s, as director Sidney Lumet (voiced by Tom McCarthy) challenged him to dig deep and confront himself in the role of an alcoholic lawyer, as he traces the embarrassments and duds alongside the box office gold. The character discovers meaning, and Newman and Woodward gradually discovered it through their charitable endeavours . Although civil rights and antiwar activist Newman regarded being on Nixon’s enemies list an honour, politics proved to be less gratifying.
In pandemic-era Zoom sessions that are excerpted throughout the series, Hawke is seen giving the actors director’s remarks and attempting to determine the direction and core of the work-in-progress. There are also conversations with Sally Field, remembering her career-changing work with Woodward in the TV movie Sybil, and a typically ebullient Martin Scorsese, one of the documentary’s executive producers. The voice actors are all strong, though Clooney’s instantly recognisable voice is initially distracting.
The 92-year-old Woodward, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease—a tragic fate for someone with her razor-sharp intellect—was not one of Hawke’s interview subjects. Even if she didn’t enjoy the same longevity as her husband as a full-fledged movie star, she never stopped appreciating acting. She taught the craft to aspiring young actors (one of her students was Allison Janney) and, as a theatre producer, she managed to bring Newman back to Broadway in Our Town after a 40-year absence.
They never intended to be the last of a Hollywood breed because of their talent, determination, natural glamour, and luck, as Newman would be quick to add. From the outside, it was simple to think that two so stunning individuals are living in a fairy tale. “Those kinds of heroes are needed by everyone,” Melissa, their daughter, says. However, I also believe they deserve more recognition than that. The Last Movie Stars delves into the lives of two “high-living, hard-living young warriors,” as Arthur Penn described them in their early, ambitious days, and examines how they went on to create a life. Woodward states it clearly: “We grew up together.”
Where to Watch The Last Movie Stars (2022)?
The Last Movie Stars (2022) will be premiering on HBO Max on July 21, 2022. We do not recommend illegal streaming and always suggest paying for the content you like to watch.
Is The Last Movie Stars (2022) available on Amazon Prime?
Amazon prime will not be streaming The Last Movie Stars (2022). Additionally, several other films are streaming on Prime. Our recommendations are The Voyagers, It’s a Wonderful Life, Notting Hill, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Is The Last Movie Stars (2022) available on HBO Max?
HBO Max will be streaming The Last Movie Stars (2022). However, HBO’s subscribers can enjoy its other popular streams like Euphoria, When Harry Met Sally and Promising Young Woman.
Is The Last Movie Stars (2022) available on Hulu?
The Last Movie Stars (2022) is not available on Hulu. The new release line-up additionally includes Pam and Tommy, How I Met Your Father, Abbott Elementary, and Vikings.
Is The Last Movie Stars (2022) available on Netflix?
The Last Movie Stars (2022) will not be available to stream on Netflix. However, other brilliant shows like The Power of The Dog, The Social Network, Tick, Tick, Boom, and much more are available.