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The Last Movie Stars 2022
A 2026 American documentary television miniseries, The Last Movie Stars, was created by Emily Wachtel and directed by Ethan Hawke. The six-part series premiered on HBO Max in July 21, 2022. Following the discovery of interview transcripts gathered at Paul Newman's request for a defunct memoir, Joanne Woodward’s daughter approached Hawke to share their story, both personally and professionally. Hawke brought together actors to recite excerpts from interviews edited by writer Stewart Stern, featuring Newman and Woodward directly. Their marriage lasted 50 years and was widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s most celebrated unions.
The documentary uses a distinctive method to present Newman and Woodward's lives, weaving together decades of material through dramatized interview readings. Hawke highlighted their impact on acting evolution: “Their generation changed American acting. What happened in the fifties with the Actors Studio with Elia Kazan and Tennessee Williams is a pivot point in the history of performance. It radically changed the way that we tell stories and we're still reacting to it.” Paul Newman was associated with and studied at the Actors Studio. Joanne Woodward also trained there, working with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where they encountered many people featured in the interviews.
Archival footage accompanies readings of older conversations with colleagues and friends. Recent interviews with all three daughters of Newman and Woodward, as well as Sally Field and Martin Scorsese, are also included. These materials formed the foundation for Newman’s posthumously released 2022 memoir titled The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man.
Cast
- Joanne Woodwardherself
- Paul Newmanhimself
- Laura LinneyJoanne Woodward
- George ClooneyPaul Newman
- Karen AllenFrances Woodward
- Brooks AshmanskasGore Vidal
- Rose ByrneEstelle Parsons
- Bobby CannavaleElia Kazan
- Billy CrudupJames Goldstone
- Ben DickeyMark Rydell
- Vincent D'OnofrioJohn Huston
- Josh HamiltonGeorge Roy Hill
- Sterlin HarjoRobert Altman
- Oscar IsaacSydney Pollack
- LaTanya Richardson JacksonMaude Brink
- Zoe KazanJackie McDonald
- Tom McCarthySidney Lumet
- Alessandro NivolaRichard Brooks
- Barry PoltermannStewart Stern
- Sam RockwellStuart Rosenberg
- Mark RuffaloMeade Roberts
- Jonathan Marc ShermanMartin Ritt
- Steve ZahnDonald "Duck" Dobbins
- Stephanie Newman
- Martin Scorsese
- Sanford Meisner
- Sidney Lumet
- Ewan McGregor
- Melissa Newman
- Nell Newman
- Clea Newman
- Maya Hawke
- Mario Andretti
- Anne Keefe
- Mark Wade
- Sally Field
- A. E. Hotchner
- David Letterman
- Henry Elkind
- Peter Elkind
Crew
- Director
- Ethan Hawke
- Creator
- Emily Wachtel
- Writer
- Stewart Stern
- Executive producer
- Martin Scorsese, Courtney Sexton, Amy Entelis
- Music
- Hamilton Leithauser
Details
- Production
- CNN Films, Nook House, Under The Influence
- Network
- HBO Max
