New in streaming: The film with a surprise Oscar nomination can be seen for the first time in Romania
It rarely happens that a film that gets a nomination for the Oscars doesn't also end up in cinemas in Romania or on one of the big streaming platforms available here. But that's exactly what happened with the feature film “Blue Moon,” in which Ethan Hawke plays a Broadway legend. The situation has changed now.
- The movie “Blue Moon” can be seen in Romania on the HBO Max streaming platform from today, April 17.
Nearly a century ago, composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart left an unmistakable mark on American music with songs like “My Funny Valentine,” “The Lady Is a Tramp” and “Blue Moon.”
But as CBS News reports, in the early 1940s Hart's heavy drinking made him an unreliable partner. Thus, Rodgers teamed up with another lyricist, and their first production, the landmark musical “Oklahoma!”, premiered on March 31, 1943.
It was an immediate success, and that evening there was a big party at Sardi's, a legendary Broadway restaurant whose walls were covered with caricatures of famous figures. Lorenz Hart appeared at Sardi's that night, and what happened next became the subject of a movie last year.
In “Blue Moon,” Ethan Hawke plays Hart, drowning his bitters at the bar. It was an interpretation that required creativity. The real Lorenz Hart was about 1.50 meters tall, so director Richard Linklater used filming tricks to make Hawke, who is almost 1.80 meters tall, look short.
Hawke shaved his head for the film that came out last year
Hawke also shaved the top of his head to recreate an authentic baldness and had a huge number of lines to learn.
“It's definitely the most text I've ever had in a movie,” said the 55-year-old American actor. “I remember calling my wife after the first day — I think I had more lines than the previous five movies combined,” he said in an interview with CBS News.
“Blue Moon” premiered on the major film festival circuit last year and earned Hawke a Golden Bear nomination for best actor at the Berlinale. He didn't triumph, but his co-star, Irish actor Andrew Scott, walked home from the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival with the Silver Bear for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Scott plays Hart's partner Richard Rodgers in the film.
The Richard Linklater-directed feature film was generally well received by film critics, with an 89% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The performance of Hawke, a former 4-time Academy Award nominee, particularly drew attention.
A surprise Oscar nomination
The independent film was finally released in theaters in the US and a handful of other countries last October. It grossed just $3.5 million, further proof that period films about acclaimed composers have a hard time attracting moviegoers to theaters (not helped by its mere 6.8/10 rating on IMDb).
But when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the Academy Awards on January 22 of this year, Hawke's name was among those proposed for the statuette given to the best actor in a leading role – along with Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura.
Although Hawke's performance was praised, his inclusion among the Oscar nominees was considered a major surprise, given that the film was not widely seen in cinemas and that other actors initially considered to have better chances – such as George Clooney for “Jay Kelly” and Russell Crowe thanks to his performance in “Nuremberg” – were left out.
Netflix almost immediately bought the rights to stream it in the US and released it to its American subscribers on February 14th. Warner Bros. Discovery outbid for other markets and won the rights to launch HBO Max outside of North America.
As for Hawke, he ultimately lost the Best Actor Oscar at the March 15 ceremony to Michael B. Jordan for his performance in “Sinners.”
But Ethan Hawke now has no less than 5 Oscar nominations, just as many as Leonardo DiCaprio had before he finally won in 2016 thanks to his role in “The Revenant”.
