Woody Allen

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Dylan
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:28 pm

Re: Woody Allen

#826 Post by Dylan » Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:15 pm

Dylan wrote:
Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:53 pm
According to Vittorio Storaro, plans are underway for Woody Allen's next film to begin filming in early August. The screenplay is set in Paris and Allen has described it as being along the lines of Match Point.
This (very quietly) ended up not happening.

From a September Deadline article about Mediapro Studio:
Deadline wrote:Mediapro president Jaume Roures previously confirmed that the company is looking to be involved in the director’s next project, which will be his 50th movie, after working with Allen on titles including Rifkin’s Festival, but Espeso says this is still up in the air. “We don’t know yet [if we will produce the film]. There is no calendar with Woody. There is a very good relationship and we are open to it, but he needs to write. When the script arrives we start the conversation, not before.”
So, it sounds like the script simply wasn't ready on time? In any case, hopefully it will happen next year.
Last edited by Dylan on Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Woody Allen

#827 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:19 pm

I hope he's doing okay. He's getting up there, but I have no idea how the amplified outcry/HBO doc/etc. from the last year has affected his mental health. Also, Rifkin's Festival would be a terrible exit film, so let's hope he hits #50

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knives
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Re: Woody Allen

#828 Post by knives » Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:43 pm

My impression is that he’s so out of the media he probably barely has it on his radar. Him being old on the other hand.

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domino harvey
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Re: Woody Allen

#829 Post by domino harvey » Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:52 pm

I get the impression that he has impossibly thick skin. He does what he can to tell his side when someone asks/gives a platform, but otherwise he just does his own thing

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Woody Allen

#830 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:54 pm

I get the same impression, and his memoir reflected a very self-actualized and tranquil mindset in the wake of everything. Still, you never know how much piling-on triggers a different kind of self-care, tho writing seems to be Allen's go-to

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knives
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Re: Woody Allen

#831 Post by knives » Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:02 pm

Either way in full selfishness I hope he happily lives to reach feature 100.

beamish14
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Re: Woody Allen

#832 Post by beamish14 » Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:17 pm

knives wrote:
Wed Nov 03, 2021 4:02 pm
Either way in full selfishness I hope he happily lives to reach feature 100.

Same. Given his parents' wonderful genes, he might just do that. The scene with Woody interacting with them near the end of Barbara Kopple's Wild Man Blues is like a mini skeleton key to understanding his entire body of work.

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swo17
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Re: Woody Allen

#833 Post by swo17 » Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:18 pm

So he'd live to be like 135?

relaxok
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Re: Woody Allen

#834 Post by relaxok » Thu Nov 04, 2021 4:58 am

I haven't posted in a few years and wanted to jot down some more thoughts on things I've seen/read since then. No interest in discussing the 'allegations'.

- Apropos of Nothing: The childhood and early years stuff was fantastic, and as has been discussed previously in the thread, was the first time a lot of details have been mentioned publicly. However, once it got to his film career, you can basically stop reading. Remarkably little said about filmmaking or the films, and what is said is vague and/or nothing new. Then there's the 'allegations' section, which again, no interest. It seems like he enjoyed digging into the childhood he's nostalgic for, but lost interest after that. I have to say I was a little surprised at how 'rough' and potentially shady his dad was made out to be in the book.

I also caught up on a bunch of latter-day films I hadn't seen, but since they show up on streaming services regularly I gave them a try:

- Scoop: I have always had quite a crush on Scarlett Johansson, but she did not work in this for me. She's just not believable as a sort of awkward/nerdy character. Match Point and VCB play to her strengths. That said, it was fun to get some literal 'magic' in a Woody film - it's always been on the edges of his work but nice to see it be a big part of the story. Jackman was just fine. I actually like the story and with a different actress I think it could be something I revisited but I just found the overall feel to be not quite right. 5/10

- Cassandra's Dream: I have to say, I recall almost nothing specific about this film at all. It actually doesn't seem like his writing to me, which makes me think he was explicitly trying to write not-like-himself. Tom Wilkinson really laid a stinker in this one. I'm a fan of both Farrell and McGregor, but whatever's going on here didn't work. I might even say this is the worst Allen film I've ever seen as there was nothing redeeming about it. 1/10

- Cafe Society: Wow, what a delight. Jesse Eisenberg is a natural for Woody dialogue. The real gem of the film though, is Kristen Stewart. I admit I had a very low opinion of her before - my girlfriend is a big Twilight fan and I just could not stomach any of it. But she is truly wonderful here, I'd even say Oscar-worthy. There is a lot of subtlety to the performance, and I just found her magnetic. Was anyone else surprised by her here? The setting was right up my alley, and I could've watched another hour of that story. That is probably the only downside of the film to me - it ends abruptly and awkwardly. Besides that, I'm surprised it was rather overlooked on release. 9/10

- Magic in the Moonlight: Visually gorgeous but one of the lightest confections in the Woody oeuvre. I actually wouldn't mind having it in the background, I find the setting quite cozy. But there's not a whole lot going on, and the may-september romance is starting to be a retread of a retread at this point and just invites flippant critical and audience reactions. Colin Firth doesn't really fit any of the usual character templates you see in these films, so it was a nice change. 6/10

- Irrational Man: I'm the biggest fan of Joaquin Phoenix (his performance in Inherent Vice is perhaps my favorite of all time), but this felt a little phoned in on his part. I'm actually surprised he took the role because he doesn't do much with it and I wouldn't see what would draw him to it besides the 'actors want a woody film on their resume' factor. The story is one of the most ridiculous of any Woody film. This one just kind of sat there on the screen. Emma Stone doesn't help things. Not as utterly forgettable as Cassandra's Dream but might be bottom 5 for me. 3/10

- A Rainy Day in New York: I'm a sucker for any of the NYC-porn woody films, and this certainly delivers on that aspect. I'm neutral on Chalamet overall but he seemed right for the part. Fanning's ingenue sort of works in her physicality but her acting seemed very fake and not believable to me. I do not understand the appeal of Gomez at all. Her Daria-ish straight faced monotone buried Only Murders In The Building (which I might have otherwise enjoyed) and she adds nothing here. Her character is also extremely vague. Compare this part to someone like Blake Lively in Cafe Society who has little screen time as the 'other woman' but dazzles. Cherry Jones knocks her scene out of the park, clearly the best in the film - though I think it was a little weighty for what came before and not early earned. Overall I felt this was much better than I had read, but that's not saying much. 6/10

I'd like to try to see Wonder Wheel and Rifkin's Festival at some point soon.

Although he seems okay and hasn't disclosed any significant health issues, I am definitely starting to feel the 'uh oh, it's coming' feeling about Woody's impending death. I really wish he could just continue to make films forever even into my old age. I think I'd always seek them out even if the hit rate isn't what it was. So a sort of sad feeling overall. The debacle with the press and the HBO documentary has shaded my mood as well.

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furbicide
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Re: Woody Allen

#835 Post by furbicide » Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:36 pm

Interesting – with the exception of A Rainy Day in New York, which I had similarly mixed feelings about, you seem to have caught up with nearly all the late films I've missed (though doesn't sound like I've been missing much)! I'll have to give Cafe Society a look based on your recommendation. I haven't seen Wonder Wheel or Rifkin's Festival either; the latter sounds like one to avoid.

Of his post–Match Point work, the ones I've seen are: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (still the highlight of his twenty-first century work for me); Blue Jasmine (a pretty successful film with a strong central performance); Midnight in Paris (which I found grating and wildly overrated); Whatever Works (a bit forgettable, didn't really dig it); You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (see above); and To Rome with Love (surprisingly good in parts – I liked the Eisenberg/Gerwig/Page chapter – but a weak overall concept; kind of ended up feeling to me like an extended Italian tourism commercial!)


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hearthesilence
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Re: Woody Allen

#837 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:09 am

I give him credit for trying - I think the piece is earnest and does not actually condescend, but give the reporting I've seen for this debate, I'm almost certain he's going to be torn apart for being clueless and condescending. The point he was trying to make with his Gregory Peck memory alone will certainly be mocked simply for comparing a perceived trauma with an innocuous memory.

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furbicide
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Re: Woody Allen

#838 Post by furbicide » Sun Nov 14, 2021 11:18 pm

While I think it's mostly reasonable, my issue with the piece is that it effectively buys into the binary that many have presented in recent years – that the decision of whether or not to work with a director should hinge on whether they are guilty or innocent of a serious crime, and that one thus has to assure themselves of Allen's innocence (as Shawn argues for here) in order to justify doing so. Yet actors flocked to work with Polanski for decades when there was never any doubt over his rape charge. Perhaps it was a "different time", but were they clearly wrong to do so? Or was there a (no-longer-fashionable) understanding that working with someone in a professional capacity is not an endorsement of how they act in their personal lives?

I know that this is in part a consequence of Dylan directly framing the moral question in this way, and I think it's undeniable that she has a right to express how she feels about seeing big stars signing up for Woody Allen films. But it's, nonetheless, a classic wedge strategy: first, it demands that one decide on someone's guilt or innocence from afar (something that none of us, whether we be critics or defenders of Allen or in or out of the film industry, are really equipped to do); then it demands that, having reached a guilty verdict, one accept that a professional relationship with a perpetrator equals disregard of a survivor's trauma – a conclusion that I think depends on a whole house of cards of unspoken presumptions about justice and personal/professional ostracism. I would have preferred Shawn to critically address the latter rather than merely relitigating this (by now) well-worn debate about an allegation whose truth will probably never be satisfactorily resolved.

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dustybooks
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Re: Woody Allen

#839 Post by dustybooks » Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:21 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 1:49 pm
Of course, the only titles not on Blu already (and who wants to bet their Anything Else will use the cropped version?)
A blu-ray.com user has confirmed this to be the case. How does it feel to always be right?

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Woody Allen

#840 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:59 pm

Why can't we have nice things? This is the third blu-ray of Anything Else to be released in the same incorrect AR now?

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AWA
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Re: Woody Allen

#841 Post by AWA » Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:36 am

As Rifkin's Festival rolls out slowly over the world after covid delays, it has a new name (at least... in Brazil?) - The Festival Of Love. As part of promotion in Brazil for the release, Woody has done a new interview in which he mentions he has no interest in making another film until covid has passed and it can be done safely without restrictions on the set. The planned Paris project had started early pre-production last summer (his daughter Manzie was in Paris as part of that crew and posted about it on IG), but that was stopped after covid cases rose in France. This is the first he has commented on that and his future in films since then. He also confirms the rumours that he explored a project in Rio de Janeiro.

The Paris project was said to be a drama similar in style / tone to Match Point.

If Woody, at age 86, is going to wait for Covid to pass before agreeing to make another film, then Rifkin's Festival very well might end up being his last film. If nothing else, he has at mininum at least one finished script for the currently paused Paris project done. But I would imagine there would very likely be more than one, since he commented last year he is still writing during the pandemic.

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Dylan
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Re: Woody Allen

#842 Post by Dylan » Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:14 pm

I recently found out that Woody Allen has had an official Twitter since November. It definitely seems legitimate, but it also seems like somebody other than him (one his daughters, perhaps) is running it, with him possibly dictating the tweets (or some/most of them). In one of the tweets Allen reveals that he had recently spoken with Bob Saget about a role Allen had written for him "in a new film I'm working on" (presumably, the Paris project).

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Fiery Angel
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Re: Woody Allen

#843 Post by Fiery Angel » Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:13 pm

48 followers? Yikes.

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domino harvey
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Re: Woody Allen

#844 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:20 pm

It’s not blue checkmarked and like Dylan I never heard about it, so not surprising that the follower count is low

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aox
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Re: Woody Allen

#845 Post by aox » Wed Jan 12, 2022 6:52 pm

Why would someone lie on the internet?

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AWA
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Re: Woody Allen

#846 Post by AWA » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:27 pm

Yeah, there is no way that is anything official at all, for a lot of reasons. Neither of his daughters live at home right now, only occasionally visit. While he hates the internet in general, he especially hates Twitter - in part from learning about in the last few years due to much of the nation's policies being formed through it for four years. And anyways, that definitely isn't his voice in those comments.

While possible that he could work with Bob Saget - who was friends with Larry David, Robert Wiede, etc - it is unlikely. Cast rumours for the Paris project seemed to indicate he was planning on using French actors primarily.

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AWA
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Re: Woody Allen

#847 Post by AWA » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:33 pm

I should also note ... prior to the pandemic, he was exploring pre-production for the big American Blues film project, his "dream project", on the parallel histories of jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. The budget for that film has always been the issue with filming it, as he expected it to be three times as much as his typical budgets - at the very least. However, getting a huge lump sum payout from Amazon, the equivalent of three or four films' budgets, potentially was going to invested into self financing that project. A guess, but that's the only conclusion I can come to as to how that started to move forward at that time.

Anyways, that likely means that that American Blues also has a finished script ready to go now too, in addition to the Paris project for MediaPro.

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Woody Allen

#848 Post by Rayon Vert » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:35 pm

No kidding. This person isn't even trying.
I loved this man. He was the greatest friend you could have this business. I don't know how to wrap my head around this one. This is insanity.

Rest easy, Bobby. God love you. I always will.

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AWA
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Re: Woody Allen

#849 Post by AWA » Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:25 pm

Rayon Vert wrote:
Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:35 pm
No kidding. This person isn't even trying.
I loved this man. He was the greatest friend you could have this business. I don't know how to wrap my head around this one. This is insanity.

Rest easy, Bobby. God love you. I always will.
The only official online accounts are the website, the Facebook page (blue check marked) and the YouTube channel. They did those "Scripts & Clips" short clips from films last year on YouTube that were... ok. But they're just continuity scripts for editing, so they literally just tell us what made the screen, which is telling us nothing about the process. Actual scripts of various types are now up on the website though, which tell us a lot more.

The Facebook page will occasional post a statement or quote from Woody in his own words, and when they do they pronounce it as such. That "Twitter account" barely even tries to find how he talks. It's clearly not real at all.

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AWA
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Re: Woody Allen

#850 Post by AWA » Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:26 pm

A new interview for the release of Rifkin's Festival in Argentina.

In this interview, he states he has a script for a theatre production completed and ready, a book written that will be released later this year and mentions the script project that is ready to be filmed in Paris when he feels comfortable doing so with the covid situation. Presumably, the theatre production will be in the same covid holding pattern as the film though.

Woody had worked on a fiction novel during the late 80s / 90s, which he then scrapped and pieces of it ended up in Celebrity and most of it was turned into Anything Else. He had mentioned in interviews in the late 00s and early 10s that he was considering revisiting the idea of a novel, so presumably this could be that project.

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