Ethan hawkes music biopic blaze bought by sundance selects for. Ethan hawke talks sundance memories, directing blaze. The music soars as a singer burns out in a muddled blaze critic david edelstein says ethan hawke s new film about country singersongwriter blaze foley is. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. Ethan hawke decided to make a biopic of blaze foley, a musician who was little known in his lifetime, because he found it important to make a point that it is not only the lives of celebrities that are worth showing on the screen. Ethan hawke s blaze reconsiders an unsung country songwriter, blaze foley, the subject of his fuzzy but moving biopic, whose career was shorter and more tumultuous than other outlawcountry. Blaze official trailer 2018 ethan hawke drama movie hd plot. Ethan hawkes biopic finds music deep in the heart of. Much the same way blaze introduced blaze foley s music to a wider audiencecharlie, louis and i hope to introduce ben dickys music to fans near and far.
Blaze wouldnt benefit much, if any, from a few extra million in the budget. After finishing the film blaze, i thought it was important for ben dickey to step forward with his own music. A documentary on the everyday man behind the legend, blaze foley. Blaze, a film by ethan hawke, brings to life a littleknown outlaw country legend, texas singersongwriter blaze foley. The movie neither apologizes for his destructive excesses nor turns him. Blaze official trailer 2018 ethan hawke drama movie hd.
Countrymusic cult hero gets the biopic he deserves actordirector ethan hawke turns the story of hardlivin troubadour blaze foley into a tribute to artistic integrity. Ethan hawke s blaze does what good biopics should do. Ifc films has debuted an official trailer for an indie musician biopic titled blaze, telling the story of folk musicians blaze foley. How ethan hawke made blaze, one of sundances most talkedabout movies. Having come to the robert redfordfounded fest 11 times with films over the past couple of decades, and with two other films at this years sff beside blaze, hawke is sundance royalty.
Ethan hawke wishes he couldve filmed blaze in austin texas. The incredible life of legendary country artist blaze foley. Born in a tree house, killed in a friends living room and 86ed from his own funeral, is now a bona fide country music legend whose songs are covered by merle haggard, john prine, willie nelson and lyle lovett. Ethan hawke s musical biopic blaze lights up the screen. Ethan hawke wishes he couldve filmed blaze in austin. Ethan hawkes blaze spotlights a mysterious master of. Blaze foley was born on december 18, 1949 in marfa, texas, usa as michael david fuller. A contemporary of willie nelson and the other outlaw country. A story of the life of blaze foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the texas outlaw. Ethan hawkes directorial debut, blaze, about the life and music of blaze. The life and legend of blaze foley is now being resurrected with blaze, a new biopic directed by actor and filmmaker ethan hawke, who, true to foley s confounding legend, once believed the.
How a forgotten texas songwriter became the years best biopic with blaze, ethan hawke decided to break all the rules by telling the story of. He sauntered into sundance in january with two films in tow the blaze foley biopic blaze. Charlie sexton, on the other hand, actually knew foley, which gave him special insight into playing the musicians friend and fellow revered songwriter townes van zandt in ethan hawke s superb. See charlie sexton as townes van zandt in ethan hawkes. Ethan hawke lets us in his editing room and reveals what. Heartfelt trailer for musician biopic blaze directed by. I had come up with the idea to make a movie about blaze foley, and my wife said, why dont you just try to write. Clearly inspired by his work on the underrated born to be blue, the oscarnominated actorwriterdirector has crafted a film that attempts to capture the spirit of its subject not merely through an. Blaze, ethan hawke s new movie he directed, cowrote the screenplay and appears onscreen a handful of times, whetted an appetite i wasnt aware i.
Ethan hawk interview blaze foley how blaze was made. Its technically a biopic of the late austinbased singersongwriter blaze foley, but is deeper, more intuitive, and more rawly. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding re imagined versions of blazes past, present and future. Of the many challenges writerdirector ethan hawke dealt himself in dramatizing the life of unsung country musician blaze foley, the biggest of them is simply justifying the exercise. With joe james sawyer, larry monroe, rob klein, sybil rosen. Ethan hawke was in houston over the weekend to promote blaze, his feature film about songwriter blaze foley, his life and one great love. Blaze 2018 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
The life of musician blaze foley and the directorial debut of actor ethan hawke. The movie depicts the life of country musician blaze foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the texas outlaw music movement that spawned the likes of merle haggard and willie nelson. Competing in the us dramatic competition category, hawke s film is a gorgeous portrait of a truelife, tender songwriter whose proper recognition is profoundly overdue. A reimagining of the life and times of blaze foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the. The screenplay by hawke and sybil rosen was adapted from the memoir living in the woods in a tree. Ben dickey as blaze, alia shawkat as sybil rosen, and charlie sexton as townes van zandt were all great choices and were believable and authentic in their portrayals. How a forgotten texas songwriter became the years best biopic with blaze, ethan hawke decided to break all the rules by telling the story of an obscure singer who died in 1989.
Ethan hawke lets us in his editing room and reveals what philip seymour hoffman taught him. Ethan hawke s movie blaze takes a lyrical look at a few years in the life of blaze foley, a country artist unknown to many but regarded as a songwriting genius by colleagues such as townes van zandt, lucinda williams, and many others. While the mikes were being positioned and tested for ethan hawke s appearance on the national podcast of texas, the actor and director took us line by line through blaze foley s oval room. Ethan hawke directed and cowrote blaze, an exquisite ramble of a musical biopic that stars ben dickey as the texas countryblues singersongwriter blaze foley. I had come up with the idea to make a movie about blaze foley, and. The film premiered at the 2018 sundance film festival and was released in the united states on august 17. With that said, the production value was impressive. The courtship and marriage of musician blaze foley ben dickey and aspiring. Ethan hawke s blaze is the story of blaze foley, the 70s80s arkansasborn, austinbred poet and reprobate whose mysterious murder in 1989 made him country muisics version of bluesman. Returning to sundance as a director almost 25 years after he had a short film play here in 1994, ethan hawke debuted a gem of a country musician movie on sunday afternoon with blaze. Rosen cowrote the film with hawke based on her memoir living in the woods in a tree.
With ben dickey, alia shawkat, charlie sexton, josh hamilton. Ive never heard of blaze foley, and perhaps you havent either. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding reimagined versions of. Blaze 2018 ethan hawke and benjamin dickey at an event for blaze 2018 ethan hawke at. The music soars as a singer burns out in a muddled blaze. Photo by amy sussmaninvisionap this article is more than 1 year old. For hawke, foley is a standin for scores of artists whove navigated. Blaze is inspired by the life of blaze foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the. If thats the case, ethan hawke wants to remedy that with his new film blaze. Foley wasnt a household name, at least for anyone who didnt grow up behind a texarkana dive bar, and his discography is limited to a batch of 45s and live albums recorded during his notefornote rendition.
Blaze, director and cowriter ethan hawke s rambling, lowkey look at countryblues singer blaze foley played by folkrock musician ben dickey in a craftily immersive acting debut, is a. Hawke s new film is blaze, which he cowrote and directed. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding reimagined versions of blazes past, present and future. Ethan hawke s easytolike blaze is full of countryspun wisdom like rain doesnt try and fall, it just falls and wherever im going, its the same place ive been. The film is directed by ethan hawke this is not his. Director ethan hawkes blaze paints a sweetly melancholy portrait of a. Counterbalance take a cheap holiday in other peoples misery. Latest movies and tv shows with ethan hawke refine see titles to watch instantly, titles you havent rated, etc. Blaze is the sort of film that takes the piss out of the legend, showing a life thats sadder for the wasted talent and what could have been. A reimagining of the life and times of blaze foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the texas outlaw music movement.