Only a Star Could Make ‘The Last Movie Stars’

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( tv review [Only a Star Could Make The Last Movie Stars]( Ethan Hawke’s docuseries about Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman unearths a potent portrait of celebrity. Photo: HBO The sweatiest, most homework-y moment of any documentary project is the hard work of setting the stakes, that necessary introduction that tends to rely on sweeping generalizations about time and human nature. A six-part series on the lives of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, directed by and prominently featuring Ethan Hawke, could’ve instantly slipped into plaintive nostalgia for a bygone era or underexamined hero worship for the towering legacies of two icons. The title alone, The Last Movie Stars, feels a bit like a joke when articulated by a man with a lengthy “awards” section on his own Wikipedia page. But the docuseries, which premiered in full on HBO Max on July 21, runs on Hawke’s intense curiosity and enthusiasm for his subjects. He showcases Newman and Woodward’s work with a consistent, careful, critical assessment, and the result is personal and loving, especially in the many sequences that dwell on the darker, less flattering qualities of its two subjects. [Read The Story »]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • [Love Island:]( Buzzed, Blessed, Never Stressed • [Evil:]( In Midsommar Territory • [Westworld:]( God’s Music • [P-Valley:]( Haints and Unsung Melodies • [Flatbush Misdemeanors:]( Collision Course • [90 Day Fiancé:]( Kara and Guillermo Have Their Big Day • [The Real Housewives of Atlanta:]( Icons vs. Ex-Cons [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like 1. [Adele’s Las Vegas Residency Is Actually, Finally Happening Weekends With Adele are rescheduled for November.]( By Zoe Guy 2. [How to Dress Like the Third Richest Woman in the World, According to Loot Designer Kirston Leigh Mann dressed Maya Rudolph in “party pajamas” and fringed caftans and kept 10 versions of the same $2,250 dress on hand.]( 3. [David Warner, Star Trek and Titanic Actor, Dead at 80 The actor died a few days before his 81st birthday of a cancer-related illness.]( By Jason P. Frank 4. [Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s White Noise to Open Venice Film Festival Co-starring Adam Driver for a Frances Ha reunion.]( By Zoe Guy [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( 5. [A Timeline of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Taking Forever The first trailer gives a glimpse of a new Black Panther.]( By Ashley Shannon Wu 6. [The Trailers of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, All Together Now Including Black Adam and Wakanda Forever.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 7-Across, Nine Letters: Production company releasing Nope. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic, Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images, Universal Pictures Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. [(Re)watch a Don Bluth film]( — and read his new memoir. The director of animated classics like Anastasia, The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH, and An American Tail is known for the transgressive darkness of his filmography. [Read more from Vulture]( Introducing Dinner Party, a lively new evening newsletter about everything that just happened. [Sign up]( to get it every weeknight. [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=vulture-daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved