Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s 50-year Hollywood romance and film careers to be focus of new doc

Theirs was a Hollywood romance for the record books, and now an esteemed actor will tell their story. 

Training Day actor Ethan Hawke is attached as director on a new documentary following the lives and careers of tinseltown legends Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who were married from 1958 until Newman’s death at 83 in 2008.

As Deadline reports, the project has been authorized by Woodward, 90, and the family. 

Hawke, 49, said in a statement that he intends to give viewers a ‘rare and exclusive look at the careers of both actors and a complex 50-year relationship that ultimately managed to beat incredible odds.’ 

Newman and Woodward remain among the few Hollywood couplings to remain intact for the long term, after meeting as neophytes in 1950s New York City where they performed together on the Broadway stage.

They would go on to star in multiple films together, including The Long, Hot Summer, Paris Blues and Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, each nabbing a Best Actor/Actress Oscar along the way.

Newman also directed his wife in several features, including 1968’s Oscar-nominated Rachel, Rachel. 

The pair also had three daughters – Nell, Claire and Melissa.

Perhaps the secret to their successful union was their decision to reside and raise their kids in Connecticut as opposed to Los Angeles, even as they maintained busy careers as in-demand Hollywood actors.

Paul was also famously involved in politics as well as charity work, leaving behind the world famous food brand Newman’s Own, which donates all of its after-tax profits to charity. 

It was Paul Newman who famously once told a reporter, ‘Why go out for burgers when you’ve got steak at home?’ when asked if he was ever tempted to pursue other romances outside of his union with Joanne.

Before his marriage to Woodward, the Cat On A Hot Tin Roof actor was wed to Jackie Witte, with whom he also had three children – including his only son, actor and stuntman Scott Newman, who died at the age of 28 in 1978.

The upcoming documentary will be produced by Emily Wachtel and Lisa Long Adler of Nook House Productions and Adam Gibbs, along with Hawke’s wife, Ryan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions.