Woody Allen

Started by Pedro, March 20, 2003, 11:46:16 PM

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jokerspath

This man is seriously one of my favorite American filmmakers ever.  I appreciate you posting the interview and I need to buy that book of interviews he did movie by movie with Stig Bgorkman [sp].

aw
THIS IS NOT AN EXIT

mutinyco

I was watching the trailer for Anything Else a few weeks ago and we noticed it seemed more in the Gordon Willis style of Woody's older work. I looked up the credits and found it was shot by Darius Khondji. Interesting.
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

Fernando

From movies.com

Venice Film Fest Opens With Woody Allen Pic

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) — Notoriously press-shy Woody Allen is finally showing his face at the Venice Film Festival, where his new comedy, Anything Else, kicked off the 60th edition today to laughs from nostalgic movie buffs.
"There's great wisdom in jokes," Allen tells his young protégé, played by Jason Biggs, as the camera sweeps across New York's Central Park in the opening scene. And moviegoers flooding the lagoon city for the world premiere tended to agree.

"We're back to the good old Woody Allen," one film critic said after the press preview. "It's better than going into the festival with a hard-hitting film, and he's such a legend."

Anything Else is one of 145 titles showing this year at the world's oldest film festival. But it is not among 20 vying for the coveted Golden Lion, to be awarded Sept. 6.

"I've always been invited but I've always made excuses. I felt I just owed it to the Italian ... people to come and participate," Allen, 67, told reporters.

The quirky American director and his cast, including Biggs, Christina Ricci, and Danny DeVito, were expected to tread the red carpet for a gala screening on the Lido later today.

Organizers were even hoping he would improvise a few jazz tunes on his clarinet at an exclusive dinner afterwards.

In his new movie, Allen relinquishes the leading man role to Biggs (American Pie), who plays Jerry Falk, an aspiring comedy writer madly in love with neurotic Amanda, played by Ricci.

In typical Woody Allen fashion, Amanda falls for Jerry but soon discovers she can only have sex with other men.

"She's really the ultimate nightmare girlfriend ... the quintessential Woody Allen girl," Ricci said in press notes.

"They make me look good," Allen said of his young upstarts. "They think I'm making a big contribution; in fact, my big contribution is casting and then getting out of their way."

Allen plays Dobel, an aging, paranoid mentor to Jerry who is obsessed with self-defense and imaginary anti-Semitic plots — a man Allen says reflects the growing tensions felt in the world today, who brings a hint of seriousness to the film.

"The film is microcosmic to some of the problems that have happened to Israel," he said.

Allen's first-ever appearance at the festival marks the return of his films to Venice after he opted to premiere Hollywood Ending at Cannes last year. His previous eight films had all taken their first bow on the Lido, though Allen himself always shied away from the festival.

But he has had a long-term love affair with Venice.

He secretly married Soon-Yi Previn here in 1997 after a much gossiped-about breakup with Mia Farrow, Soon-Yi's adoptive mother and his longtime movie muse. He shot parts of the 1996 musical Everyone Says I Love You on the city's winding canals.

Gondoliers proudly point out the hotel where he and Soon-Yi stay on their visits and hail his contributions to the famed La Fenice opera house, which was destroyed by a fire in 1996.

Allen, however, was not the only star luring fans to the Lido today. Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas, and Salma Hayek were expected to arrive for the premiere of Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the latest gun-slinging film by Robert Rodriguez.

Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Hollywood legend Omar Sharif will also stroll down the red carpet in coming days.

cine

I don't think this will be Woody Allen going precisely back to his roots, because when I think of that, I think of "Bananas" and "Annie Hall".. this looks like a good Allen comedy though. I'm going to enjoy Ricci's character and the fun casting of the rest.

MacGuffin

Woody Allen Says He's Not Famous in U.S.

PARIS (AP) - Woody Allen disagrees with those who think he's a Hollywood legend. The director and actor famed for playing neurotic characters said Tuesday that his star power is far greater outside the United States and that few up-and-coming American filmmakers want to emulate him.

"In my country I have a small, loyal following - very loyal, very small,'' said Allen, who was in Paris to promote his new film "Anything Else.''

"By most people in the United States I am very reluctantly acknowledged as someone who has been around for a long time and they frankly can't understand what the fuss is about - when there's a fuss.''

"They're kind but very, very unimpressed,'' Allen, 67, said about the majority of American moviegoers.

In Europe and particularly France, Allen is revered. Europeans admire the intellectual nature of his films. His dark humor and psychological themes fit well with local cinematic genres.

Allen said young filmmakers back home have all but ignored him and try to emulate directors like Martin Scorsese - a thought he shared with Scorsese in a recent conversation.

"I was saying to him, it seems to me that everyone in film who is influenced is influenced by him,'' Allen said. "I never, never see anybody influenced by me.''

"I don't mind this, it's just a fact,'' he said.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

©brad

poor woody.

i totally disagree w/ him though. i think the problem is that a lot of people really haven't seen his films. i made a couple buddies, who's film knowledge begins w/ animal house and ends w/ whatever colin farrell film of the moment, watch deconstructing harry once, and they were falling on the floor. one wanted more, so we watched annie hall. i let him borrow manhattan and love and death.

so u see, he could have a much bigger following if the stupid movie studio wouldn't fuck him on the release/marketing of his films.

ono

Interesting thought coming from Woody, but it seems like vintage Woody self-deprecation to me.  Case in point: last semester I took a movie criticism class.  We'd screen movies and then discuss them in groups for an hour-ish.  To start off discussions, we'd go around and rate the movie we just saw, from 1-10.  When it came time to discuss Annie Hall, pretty much everyone was familiar with Woody Allen, three or four people gave Annie Hall a 10 (a record for our class; neither The Godfather, Amelie, nor Fight Club came close, though they were the other most liked films in our class, from what I recall), and there were only a few who hated his work or were apathetic to it (mostly girls).  Of course, this was an academic setting, and it was a small cross-section of all movie goers, but still, he gives himself too little credit.  At least he's no Vincent Gallo.

MacGuffin

Will Ferrell Replacing Downey Jr. in Woody Allen Film
Source: Variety

Will Ferrell has replaced Robert Downey Jr. in Woody Allen's next film, which will be released by Fox Searchlight. Also joining the cast are Amanda Peet, Brooke Smith, Zak Orth, Wallace Shawn, Gene Saks and Vinessa Shaw.

Previously cast were Radha Mitchell, Chloe Sevigny and Jonny Lee Miller.

Production is scheduled to begin Sept. 22 in Gotham and wrap in November.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Ghostboy

Quote from: MacGuffinWill Ferrell

Amanda Peet

Wallace Shawn

Chloe Sevigny


YES YES YES YES YES.

Particularly in regards to Mr. Ferrell.

mutinyco

Vinessa Shaw was Domino in Eyes Wide Shut...
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

SoNowThen

Shaw is damn beautiful and soooo under-used since Eyes...
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

Pubrick

Quote from: mutinycoVinessa Shaw was Domino in Eyes Wide Shut...
how come u know every bit-actress from that movie?

also what can u tell me about post-EWS Nuala? "N-U-A-L-A"
under the paving stones.

mutinyco

I know everybody from EWS because I spent 3 years writing an analysis of it. Go to:

http://www.movienavigator.org/eyeswideshut.htm

As for Nuala, she's my girlfriend... :)
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

mutinyco

"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

Ghostboy

I wrote off Vinessa Shaw after she played the romantic lead in Corky Romano.