‘The Last Movie Stars’
With HBO Max’s The Last Movie Stars, actor/filmmaker/writer/documentarian Ethan Hawke takes on the gargantuan task of making a comprehensive docuseries about one of Hollywood’s most famous couples, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Hawke’s project is both a tribute to the power couple and a love letter to the craft of acting. Throughout the six episodes that comprise the docuseries, Hawke enlists famous friends like Laura Linney, George Clooney, Sam Rockwell, and Vincent D’Onofrio to read and record (via Zoom) transcripts from the abandoned memoir project that Newman and screenwriter pal Stewart Sternject had embarked on in the ‘90s. Hawke also relies on extensive clips from Newman’s and Woodward’s films and rare personal photos to help illustrate the overlapping lives and careers of a couple who well might be the “last movie stars.” For their aging fans, the docuseries provides a gold mine of memories and discoveries; for a generation of younger viewers, it provides a powerful introduction to these icons that is long overdue.