On Friday, I spitballed Cannes, and reported that Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” was submitted for the festival’s 2025 edition. I would not be surprised if it turns out to be the opening night film.
Now, I’m seeing, via internal release, that Linklater’s other 2025 film, “Blue Moon,” has been given a tentative May 2025 release date, which would also perfectly coincide with a Cannes debut.
This latest development opens up the possibility for the ever-prolific Linklater to have TWO films premiering on the Croisette next year. Coincidentally, the last time Linklater was at Cannes, in 2006, he also premiered two films (“Fast Food Nation” and “A Scanner Darkly”). For the last 18 years, he’s opted to premiere his films at Sundance, Berlin and Venice.
“Blue Moon” was recently acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, and has a cast that includes Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott and Bobby Cannavale. Production on the film began this summer in Ireland and wrapped up in September. Robert Kaplow, who co-wrote Linklater’s underrated “Me and Orson Welles,” has penned the screenplay.
“Blue Moon” is said to tackle the songwriting team of Rodgers & Hart. The film is set primarily in Sardi’s Restaurant on March 31, 1943, the opening night of their musical “Oklahoma!”, which marked Rodgers’s first collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II as Hart’s replacement.
Linklater’s “Hit Man” was released on Netflix in June, and as mentioned, he recently shot “Nouvelle Vague” in Paris, which is deep in post-production. He also has his highly ambitious “Merrily We Roll Along,” which has been shooting now for the better part of five years and won’t be ready for release until 2041.
