Ethan Hawke Upstages The Rock’s Oscar Bid With Before Sunrise Director’s New Film

Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke are back at it with Blue Moon, a period piece that zeroes in on one messy, pivotal night in Broadway history. The timing is spicy: it lands in a year already crowded with biopics, including Dwayne Johnson's The Smashing Machine (in theaters now) and Channing Tatum's Roofman. And if early reactions are any hint, Blue Moon could steal some of the oxygen The Rock was hoping to hoard during awards season.

Blue Moon: one night, a legend unraveling

Blue Moon is a Lorenz Hart biopic with a tight focus: a single evening, the opening night of Oklahoma!, while Hart is staring down the last year of his life. Hart, the brilliant but troubled lyricist who once partnered with Richard Rodgers, is portrayed as an aging, semi-closeted artist battling alcoholism, depression, and the creeping fear that his voice is slipping away just as Rodgers helps launch what becomes the most famous musical in Broadway history.

Hawke plays Hart, and the cast around him is loaded: Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott, and Bobby Cannavale all get called out for making an impact. If you know Hawke and Linklater's track record together, you know why people are already paying attention. The vibe here is bold and classic-leaning, not fussy.

'Blue Moon boasts a wonderful performance by Ethan Hawke as he embodies a man hanging on by a thread while the audience hangs on to every word said.'

- Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus

Numbers-wise, the film is sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.2 on IMDb. Not bad for a movie about one night and a guy in freefall.

Meanwhile, The Smashing Machine is fighting two fronts

Benny Safdie's A24 biopic The Smashing Machine has Dwayne Johnson playing MMA legend Mark Kerr, with Emily Blunt co-starring. On paper, it has everything: a transformation role, real-life stakes, and a serious director. It also reportedly cost around $50 million, which is high for a scrappy awards play. Critics have generally been kind (71% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.8 on IMDb), but the box office has been wobbly since release.

There has been high-profile praise floating around, including from Christopher Nolan. And, depending on who you are reading, even a nod from Roger Ebert... which would be quite a feat, for obvious reasons. Point is: the critical narrative is there, the commercial one is not, and that combo is never the Academy's favorite.

A quick snapshot

• Blue Moon (premieres Oct 17, 2025) - Director: Richard Linklater - Writer: Robert Kaplow - Based on: Lorenz Hart - Leads: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley (with Andrew Scott and Bobby Cannavale) - Scores: Rotten Tomatoes 93%, IMDb 7.2 - Budget: N/A - Premise: One night with Lorenz Hart on the opening of Oklahoma!, wrestling with addiction, identity, and a fractured partnership with Richard Rodgers.
• The Smashing Machine (in theaters now) - Director/Writer: Benny Safdie - Based on: Mark Kerr - Leads: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt - Scores: Rotten Tomatoes 71%, IMDb 6.8 - Budget: About $50 million - Status: Strong notices from some big names, but struggling at the box office.

So who has the edge?

Right now, Blue Moon has the cleaner narrative: raves for Hawke, a sharpened scope, and the Linklater-Hawke chemistry that tends to sneak up on voters. The Smashing Machine still has a path if the conversation swings back toward Johnson's performance, but Blue Moon is positioned to complicate that run in a very real way.

Also floating in the mix: Channing Tatum's Roofman, another biopic slated in the same general window. Different lane, same traffic jam.