woody allen

I haven't had a frankfurter in, I would say, forty-five years.

: (

That robert weide doc mentioned upthread is on iplayer at the moment, v. highly recommended if you haven't seen it.

How Woody Became a Hack

... how could such a hurried, unrehearsed process not show up in the work? Watching post-2000 Allen films, nothing stands out so much as the lack of specificity in the performances. Sometimes the cast even sounds like it's running through a first-day table-read. Most actors will tell you that creating a fully rounded character is a process. Without adequate time to let that evolve, you are more often than not going to get performances heavy on emoting and archetype, light on originality and depth. (Perhaps this is the reason so many of Allen's male leads ape his famous inflections -- it's the only thing they have to latch onto.)

...Now consider this, from the book Directing Actors, by Judith Weston:

Woody Allen, in a 1994 New York magazine article, disclosed that the reason he uses one wide shot for most of his whole scenes is partly because it's quicker and cheaper, but mostly it is for the actors, because it is a way to "let them talk," and to allow overlapping.

It's the "quicker and cheaper" I'm interested in. Since 1977, Woody Allen has made at least one picture a year, an incredible streak. But consider what it takes to conceive, write, and direct a quality film, one that has something new to say and does it well. Could anyone produce such a movie on this tight schedule? Is it any wonder that Allen's camera setups are expedient, the themes repetitive, the acting cardboard, the characterizations clichéd? If Woody Allen were churning out genre potboilers, an assembly line approach might still yield a passable final product. But he's not; he continually attempts to wrestle, either comedically or dramatically with the deepest questions about the human condition. That takes time, effort, and most of all thought -- if you don't put these into it, if you're on automatic pilot, you're going to get a work that is basically stillborn.

http://www.kqed.org/arts/movies/article.jsp?essid=124365

his kid (maybe) is pretty funny - http://gawker.com/mia-farrow-says-woody-allens-son-may-actually-be-frank-1440233819?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

thread about ronan

What The Waht...

He then went home to change his bloody clothes and ate lunch at Wendy's before seeing a Woody Allen movie at Hollywood Hits, a theater not far from his Danvers home which he shares with his mother and two younger sisters, according to police.

http://news.yahoo.com/teen-raped-popular-teacher-killing-her-indictment-states-235247146--abc-news-topstories.html

well..

http://www.eonline.com/news/498566/mia-and-ronan-farrow-slam-woody-allen-s-golden-globes-tribute-via-twitter

O'Hehir triages the films into 4 periods:

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/11/making_sense_of_woody_allens_confusing_career/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html

more discussion on that one in the mia thread

Mia Farrow's son -- Ronan Seamus Farrow -- really creeps me out!

pardon me, the ronan thread.

ah, thanks, i am interested in discussion

it's Broadway's feelgood hit of the spring!

http://bulletsoverbroadway.com/

Woody has weighed in on Gaza, I know you were all waiting.... also Colin Firth-Emma Stone film is imminent.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/18/woody-allen-on-magic-in-the-moonlight-the-crisis-in-gaza-new-york-city-and-those-allegations.html

NY Times profile felt like a journalist distancing himself from his assignment. "Woody has always lived in a world of illusion," etc., etc.

a new ranking, entirely respectable; #2 often my favorite. Happily nothing from the 21st century nor Bullets over Broadway.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2014/21/the-10-best-woody-allen-movies

years since 1969 where woody allen failed to release a new directorial effort:

1970, 1974, 1976, 1981

poll

life expectancy increased in each of those years

in '70 Woody was wrapping up the Broadway run of Play It Again Sam, in '76 he had the lead role in The Front, '81 he had a play produced at Lincoln Center

nice sidestep by woody in the daily beast interview when asked about lena dunham

feel it is more likely woody allen is the sleepy grampa he is describing there than that he is pulling jedi mind tricks on journalists

he definitely knows who lena dunham is

i mean, she writes and directs a show called Girls, amirite?

and she called him a monster and a lousy filmmaker etc last winter

an interview centering on filmmaking technique, esp cinematography/editing

http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/simply-do-it-talking-with-woody-allen-about-directorial-style

Cannot believe how much uncritical press (ie not mentioning Dylan Farrow) this guy is getting right now.

are you serious

Yes?

NYT article had like one blithe paragraph in the middle, Chi Trib article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-woody-allen-magic-moonlight-20140723,0,4313909.column) has a couple of dismissive paragraphs

I'm not defending the press, to be clear, just that I dunno why anyone would be surprised that some unpleasant allegations are conveniently swept under the rug when it comes time to promote the latest work of one of the most famous and widely regarded white male American film directors, now in his dotage.

"now"

America happy to be entertained by murderers, child abusers, wifebeaters, racists etc. why would they stop now

lol Alfred, I did actually sweat the wording of that a little

xp

Before the last round of scandal, it's hard to imagine Allen not on the cover of Arts & Leisure when a profile comes out.

Keep in mind that Woody Allen is the same age as the people who still pay for print subscriptions.

nothing actionable or proven, so let's go on with the show fuckit

I'm sure that calculus is also foremost in the mind of the press - should they keep harping on these allegations knowing full well nothing will ever come of them, or should they keep feeding the well-oiled promotional machine that pays their bills. not a tough choice really.

it's weird how people announce their surprise that people are surprised

like why doesn't your cynicism extend further

I assume everyone is more cynical than I am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_Akm40RJQ

back to the lost cause of Simon Abrams' ebert.com interview:

When I see cool films, no matter how beautiful they are, there's something off-putting about them. I have all my characters—or 99% of the characters—dress in autumnal clothes, beiges, and browns, and yellows, and greens. And I have [production designer and long-time collaborator] Santo Loquasto make the sets look as warm as possible. And I like the lighting to be very warm, and I color-correct things so that they're very red.

Sometimes, the cameraman will be shocked. Sven Nykvist said "My God, their faces will all look like tomatoes!"

And I said "Well, let's try it." He got to like it.

WA also says Brando was terrible at being funny... dunno, The Freshman

I particularly liked the section about editing Annie Hall. Ralph Rosenblum's book is one of my favourites.

^^^ me too

That was a cool interview, nice to hear Woody's thoughts on style, and a great Willis quote:

Gordon always used to paint with light. He'd do the fundamental lighting, and then he'd say "Ok, I've got the lighting basically done. Now I'm going to paint for a while."

re Farrow accusations do you think it's something journalists should address?

Also it seems to me (maybe something I picked up on the Blue Jasmine thread) that there's some antagonism towards recent Woody films on this board? I found Blue Jasmine and Midnight in Paris very very good, Whatever Works, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Match Point very good and the rest of his post 2000 production really enjoyable.

imo its not per se that reviews need to hand-wring about the morality of liking a new emma stone movie, so much as their prose should be informed by the fact that their subject may not be an awesome guy just cuz he's consistently brought the middlebrow chuckles

i hated whatever works to death

that nyt piece about what a charming trickster woody is a pretty stunning example of how NOT to write about a successful filmmaker accused of molestation by their daughter

re hating Whatever Works to death, I've often had people tell me about Woody-films they absolutely could not stand (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, Melinda and Melinda) and it's kind of weird to me because the good ones I don't see how anyone can dislike and the minor works are so innocuous and fun so why hate but then again hey that's just taste for you

I'm probably not good at seeing the whole Farrow case clearly because I like Woody Allen's movies a loooot but what would be a good moral stance on the thing then? Not having an opinion on it seems the most sensible thing to me - I'm glad that's what I did with Conor though I know that's not a fair analogy.

his minor works have become unwatchable, they don't even function as movies it's just a bunch of random shit on the screen. they're almost offensive in their tossed-off-ness. Of his post 2000 output I would rate them as follows:

Curse of the Jade Scorpion - v funny. didn't buy him as the romantic lead but whatever.
Hollywood Ending - the best part about this film was when it was over
Anything Else - Excruciating. Horrible, horrible cast.
Melinda and Melinda - Pointless. Drama wasn't dramatic and the comedy wasn't funny.
Match Point - P good, a nice change of pace.
Scoop - Awful.
Cassandra's Dream - Couldn't bring myself to watch a retread of Match Point.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - omg wanted to murder every cliched character in this laugh-free apocalypse of trite bullshit
Whatever Works - Whatever definitely didn't work.
Midnight in Paris - another painful retread of earlier ideas, didn't really find any of the caricatures funny but did perk up when the multiple levels of fantasy started to accrete. of course then the movie ended.
To Rome With Love - Couldn't bring myself to watch a retread of Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Blue Jasmine - Probably his most interesting since Match Point, although there were still all sorts of false notes and head-smacking stupid choices. But it hummed along smoothly, some quality acting, looked great.