Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater are back together for a look at a Broadway musical icon in Blue Moon, which looks to reshape the way audiences see biopics. The film, the ninth collaboration between Hawke and Linklater, centers on Lorenz Hart, the former creative partner of acclaimed Broadway composer Richard Rodgers, on the opening night of Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in 1943, struggling to come to terms with his alcoholism and depression in the midst of his increasing friction with the former.
Also starring Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott as Hammerstein, Blue Moon has drawn widespread acclaim since its Berlin International Film Festival, currently holding an 88% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest point of praise the film has received is its different approach to the biopic genre, avoiding a full-life exploration and instead focusing on a singular night and how it showcases its central figure.
In honor of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott to discuss Blue Moon. When asked about how the biopic stands out from the genre’s recent efforts, including Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, also releasing this weekend, Hawke began by pointing out that the ultimate draw for audiences is if “the movie’s either interesting or it isn’t“, regardless of if the subject is someone more modern like Springsteen or classic like Lorenz Hart.
Describing the “movie itself [as] the drama“, Hawke went on to praise how Linklater and writer Robert Kaplow avoided the classic biopic approach of chronicling Hart’s life from beginning to end and instead just focusing on one night, which makes Blue Moon “really interesting” whether someone is familiar with the composer are not:
Ethan Hawke: When you get into the biopic where you’re doing the Wikipedia page of some, “Well, he was born in Oklahoma, and he moved to this place, and then he got divorced, and then he found God,” and whatever it is, you’re not actually telling a story, it’s just reportage. From what I hear about the Springsteen movie, it’s the same thing. It’s just using a really interesting human being to build a character and a narrative off of.
Scott agreed with much of Hawke’s outlook on how the film shakes up the biopic formula, feeling that other prior genre efforts can see storytelling “look at the history of artists’ lives backwards“, simply going from one point to another. Expressing that there’s a need to “unlearn all the biography” of the subject of a film, it allows the audience to see the “periods in between lives in an artist’s life“, where they may feel “I’m never going to work again“.
Hawke then shared that the general public often “don’t believe” an artist “really felt that way” after they “survive” the period of self-doubt, instead thinking it will “good fuel“ when a movie or project is met with “really bad reviews” or becomes “an epic failure” and seemingly helps an artist grow:
Ethan Hawke: You’re like, “No, I actually thought I might be dead. I was going to lose this career, and it was not good for me. I was miserable.” And when you’re in the present tense of your life, you don’t know how the next chapter is going to go. So it is really scary. That’s one of the things we loved about this movie was that you’re seeing Richard Rogers in the half an hour before he finds out Oklahoma is a hit. I have this great moment I love, where I say, “This is going to be the biggest hit of your life.” And he’s like, “You don’t know that.” And he wants that to be true. I don’t want that to be true, but he does. And it’s like people telling you, “Oh yo Andrew, you’re going to win the Tony for this one.” Stop it. Don’t put a hex on it.
Scott went on to conclude that in the period in which an artist finds themselves out of work, “your storytelling capacity is enormous“, as, even in the midst of “when things are going to go wrong“, something can come along and “the story changes“.
Everything Else We Learned About Blue Moon From Ethan Hawke & Andrew Scott
ScreenRant: Ethan, is it fair to say after covering about two hours of a story in this runtime, that you’ve worked with Richard Linklater on both his shortest and longest productions?
Ethan Hawke: That is fair to say, yes.
ScreenRant: I’m sure everyone’s been asking you about getting immersed in the role because I was shocked by how much you transformed physically. I know that there was probably some movie magic, but I also thought you transformed vocally. Can you give me some of the behind-the-scenes secrets?
Ethan Hawke: Andrew’s heard me say this, but actors are only as good as our opportunities. When you get a great opportunity, you have to seize it. This was an incredibly complex person who required everything I’ve learned about acting. I mean, there are actors that would do a better job of it. If you take on a role like Hamlet or Macbeth, or one of these great roles, you’re never going to be as good as the part requires. You’re just going to come up against the wall of your own talent, and it can always handle more. I felt that way about Larry Hart. I felt like, “Wow, this is one of those parts. What would Ian McKellen do with this part? What would Jack Nicholson do with this part?” Your brain spins. They would do something magnificent, and then you go, “Okay, well, what am I going to do?”
ScreenRant: One of the lines that stuck out to me was towards the very end of Blue Moon. I believe it was Larry saying it to Bobby’s bartender in the film. He said, “You’re the best listener I’ve ever met.” Who’s the best listener you guys have ever met?
Ethan Hawke: That’s something I’ve actually never been asked before. I have something that was extremely nice for me to realize. The truth of the matter is I’m incredibly lucky. My wife is the best listener I’ve ever met.
Andrew Scott: That’s wonderful.
Ethan Hawke: She’s really a good friend that way. She’s actually interested in what other people are saying. I’ve spent my life thinking about what I’m going to say next, but part of why she’s so wonderful to talk to is because she’s actually absorbing what you’re saying and trying to feel what you’re communicating.
Andrew Scott: It’s a wonderful gift. I would say my mom was the best listener. I have to say she actually died about six weeks before we made our movie. When someone isn’t a good listener, we know about that. So, I miss her for that reason among many.
Blue Moon is now in theaters.
- Release Date
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October 17, 2025
- Runtime
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90 minutes
- Writers
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Robert Kaplow
- Producers
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John Sloss, Mike Blizzard
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Margaret Qualley
Elizabeth Weiland
