The first image for Richard Linklater’s upcoming film Blue Moon has been released. Best known for Boyhood and his Before trilogy, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker has been working on a biopic of songwriter Lorenz Hart called Blue Moon, which will focus on the artist’s later days and the opening night of Oklahoma! and will serve as a deep dive into the songwriter’s struggle with depression and alcoholism. The film will star Ethan Hawke, Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley, and Bobby Cannavale, and is expected to release sometime in May 2025.

Announcing the lineup for the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter has provided a first look at Linklater’s upcoming Blue Moon, which will have its world premiere at the festival, marking the director’s fourth time in the compeтιтion. The image features Qualley and Hawke at a bar clad in period clothing, with Hawke seemingly on his knees and Qualley holding a vase of flowers. See the image below:

What This Means For Blue Moon

It’s Another Major Collaboration Between Linklater & Hawke

Blue Moon marks the ninth collaboration between Linklater and Hawke, and it’s a pᴀssion project that’s reportedly been long in the works between the two. Announced in June 2024, and taking its name from the 1934 ballad by Richard Rodgers and Hart, Blue Moon will tell the story of the doomed partnership between Rodgers and Hart — who collaborated between 1919 and the early 1940s and created 28 stage musicals and penned over 500 songs — and the final days of their partnership. Hart’s difficulties with depression and alcoholism eventually led to Rodgers abandoning the duo and instead working with Oscar Hammerstein II.

Reportedly, the film will be primarily set in Sardi’s Restaurant on March 31, 1943, the opening night of Oklahoma! It’s possible that the setting featured in the released image is Sardi’s Restaurant, as the location presumably holds great weight to the history behind the film’s narrative. It’s unclear whether Blue Moon is a single-location kind of movie like 12 Angry Men or Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. It is highly likely, however, that the film will take place during one 24-hour period like many of Linklater’s films.

Our Take On The First Image Of Blue Moon

There Is A Lot Of Promise

I take all speculations based on mere images with a grain of salt, but what caught my attention was the period costumes worn by Qualley and Hawke. It’d be nice to see another period drama from Linklater since his last period drama, Me and Orson Welles, was also written by Blue Moon writer Robert Kaplow. It’s also exciting to see how Linklater will use Qualley, as the film marks the first collaboration between the two. Due to these collaborations, I have high hopes for Blue Moon and its upcoming world premiere.

Source: THR