Thorough summary of Woody's first 20 years in showbiz, including the magazine ads he did:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/02/the-early-woody-allen-.html
Links to some clips from "Hot Dog", a kids' show from '71 which is the first time I remember seeing him on TV. Woody & Jo Ann Worley on how money is made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AtALhw0Ksc
― Fusty Moralizer (Dr Morbius), Monday, 15 February 2010 14:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Q. How do you feel about the aging process?A. Well, I’m against it.[....]Q. Were you prepared for the firestorm of media coverage you set off by casting Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in your next movie, “Midnight in Paris”?A. I was very surprised at the level of journalism that occurred in relation to her.
A. Well, I’m against it.
[....]
Q. Were you prepared for the firestorm of media coverage you set off by casting Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in your next movie, “Midnight in Paris”?
A. I was very surprised at the level of journalism that occurred in relation to her.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/movies/15woody.html?src=me&ref=general
― p.m.s.b. (pre-mall smoke bomb) (zorn_bond.mp3), Thursday, 16 September 2010 17:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Love that first answer. The whole interview is pretty entertaining.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:13 (thirteen years ago) link
Ime, Woody has two well-developed schticks: Funny Woody with his gulping delivery of every line and Artsy Woody who stays behind the camera and creates little drawing room dramas. I can't say I'm much taken with either schtick. I can take them or leave them. Mostly leave them.
― Aimless, Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:23 (thirteen years ago) link
funny Woody was frequently great and still has (hot) flashes of brilliance
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:44 (thirteen years ago) link
I can't remember the last movie he did that was genuinely funny tbh. nothing this decade.
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Curse of the Jade Scorpion maybe
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6595/050708095500.jpg
― bamcquern, Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:52 (thirteen years ago) link
whaaaaaaaaat
― peacocks, Thursday, 16 September 2010 18:53 (thirteen years ago) link
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Thursday, September 16, 2010 1:44 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
This is true. In the occasional interview and whatnot, he has proven that he still is very funny, somehow he lost the ability to translate this to film?
― EDB, Thursday, 16 September 2010 20:23 (thirteen years ago) link
whatever works is pretty funny. criticisms of it sorta lay in its lack of depth iirc. i know it's a seventies script etc etc etc but it's all his.
― FORTIFIED STEAMED VEGETABLE BOWL (schlump), Thursday, 16 September 2010 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link
my criticism of it was that I didn't laugh. in fact, I fell asleep about halfway through iirc
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 16 September 2010 20:58 (thirteen years ago) link
it was one of those things that looked great on paper and then in execution was just argggh why
I have skipped a whole bunch of '00s Woody, incl Larry David and some of the ScarJos
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 16 September 2010 21:45 (thirteen years ago) link
the new one is not bad, pretty black-hearted as usual
― dabney hardman (s1ocki), Thursday, 16 September 2010 23:31 (thirteen years ago) link
are there joeks
― Dr. Lol Evans (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 16 September 2010 23:40 (thirteen years ago) link
not a lot.
― dabney hardman (s1ocki), Thursday, 16 September 2010 23:59 (thirteen years ago) link
his "cynicism" is so facile though
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 September 2010 00:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Last one I love is Sweet & Lowdown
― a cross between lily allen and fetal alcohol syndrome (milo z), Friday, 17 September 2010 00:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Alfred, I believe he calls it "realism"
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:31 (thirteen years ago) link
which in his rendering is really just sentimentality.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:33 (thirteen years ago) link
meh, sometimes.
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:36 (thirteen years ago) link
otmfm. His cynicism used to resonate, or at least raise more questions than it squelched. He was facile (this is another great word with opposite meanings) with romantic futility. Now at best it's Bergman without the courage of its own premise, and at worst it tries to be funny and painfully fails.
― when you've got a fist all ur problems look like faces (kenan), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Poor bastard. At some point everyone's best work is behind them, and you never know when that's going to be.
― when you've got a fist all ur problems look like faces (kenan), Friday, 17 September 2010 03:00 (thirteen years ago) link
at this point life is behind him.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 September 2010 03:01 (thirteen years ago) link
that's not fair -- life as he saw it was always behind him. He used to better at it, though.
― when you've got a fist all ur problems look like faces (kenan), Friday, 17 September 2010 03:05 (thirteen years ago) link
"If I was speaking to the people who are protesting legitimately, I would try to convince them, if I could, that building the mosque takes a step toward eliminating this kind of thing from happening again. Preventing the mosque from being built is not a step in the right direction."
DiGiacomo asked Allen asked Allen if he has a bucket list of things he'd like to do before he dies. "Yes, and one of them is [to] live longer," the director responded. "That's at the head of the list."
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2010/09/earned_opinion.php
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, 17 September 2010 03:37 (thirteen years ago) link
75th today for the altecocker
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 12:41 (thirteen years ago) link
still only 75 wow, that means another 50 films before going out Manoel de Oliveira style.
― Ludo, Wednesday, 1 December 2010 13:00 (thirteen years ago) link
really weird to me that he's "only" 75, he seems like he's in his 90s... I mean wasnt he writing for tv in the 50s? jesus...
― Princess TamTam, Wednesday, 1 December 2010 13:02 (thirteen years ago) link
i thought vicky christina barcelona was great - mainly because of penelope cruz (who i definitely didn't expect to like that much)
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 13:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I mean wasnt he writing for tv in the 50s?
When he was about 19.
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 14:53 (thirteen years ago) link
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, December 1, 2010 8:20 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
]and rebecca hall yall
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:13 (thirteen years ago) link
here's two woody allen bday links:
great 1985-circa interview with michiko kakutani:
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1550/the-art-of-humor-no-1-woody-allen
amazing overview of his pre-movie career (tv writing, standup etc):
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:14 (thirteen years ago) link
<3 HB
― ENBB, Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:15 (thirteen years ago) link
I say this with no false modesty—that I feel I have done no really significant work, whatsoever, in any medium. I feel that unequivocally. I feel that what I have done so far in my life is sort of the ballast that is waiting to be uplifted by two or three really fine works that may hopefully come. We’ve been sitting and talking about Faulkner, say, and Updike and Bergman—I mean, I obviously can’t talk about myself in the same way at all. I feel that what I’ve done so far is the . . . the bed of lettuce the hamburger must rest on. I feel that if I could do, in the rest of my life, two or three really fine works—perhaps make a terrific film or write a fine play or something—then everything prior to that point would be interesting as developmental works. I feel that’s the status of my works—they’re a setting waiting for a jewel. But there’s no jewel there at the moment.
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:18 (thirteen years ago) link
I dunno if I buy that as "sincere" but I love the desire to keep going.
― absinthe of malithe (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:20 (thirteen years ago) link
nah, rephrase, if he means that then I think he's barking up an imaginary tree that sucks
He's pretty much always said this. He used to sit around with Sid Caesar going "If I could just write you one decent skit, I would be happy".
― specifically, the word talking (Ned Trifle II), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:28 (thirteen years ago) link
He's whined like this for years. However, classic lol: "I feel that what I’ve done so far is the . . . the bed of lettuce the hamburger must rest on."
― look at it, pwn3d, made u look at my peen/vadge (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:30 (thirteen years ago) link
The college dropout intellectual in him is never going to be satisfied that he's made more good films than, say, the Marx Brothers did. (or Chaplin, at least when it comes to features)
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:39 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah but it's a (false) fanboy point of view. It's great if it works as a motor for him but it doesn't mean anything beyond that.
― absinthe of malithe (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 15:40 (thirteen years ago) link
what is it supposed to "mean"? it's just the way he thinks.
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 16:32 (thirteen years ago) link
Happy Birthday! Let's hope he has a Fanny & Alexander in him..
― Davek (davek_00), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
tons of Mubi links, incl audio analysis from Judd Apatow :o
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/2593
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 19:21 (thirteen years ago) link
a jewish american writer-director of relationship comedies, talking about his fondness for woody allen?
:o indeed
― rip whiney g weingarten 03/11 never forget (history mayne), Wednesday, 1 December 2010 19:41 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, w/ the aspirations to high culture flipped.
I had such bad stomach flu today it reminded me of watching Knocked Up
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 2 December 2010 05:18 (thirteen years ago) link
― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Wednesday, December 1, 2010 7:18 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark
is this from the paris review interview? crazy. you know groucho marx said of allen that allen was better than the marx brothers. what other american comedian of the last fifty years could make films that are respected by jean luc godard? he's just a genius, there's no other comedian like that really.
― jeevves, Thursday, 2 December 2010 10:27 (thirteen years ago) link
he was good quite a long time ago
― rip whiney g weingarten 03/11 never forget (history mayne), Thursday, 2 December 2010 10:33 (thirteen years ago) link
which is fine, most artists go off the boil, but they usually disappear and don't get to be continually indulged and work with the best actors etc
― rip whiney g weingarten 03/11 never forget (history mayne), Thursday, 2 December 2010 10:35 (thirteen years ago) link
The Twigster destroyed him.
― Someone left a space telescope out in the rain (Tom D.), Monday, 31 January 2022 12:40 (two years ago) link
The film-after-next will be his 50th! Not including What's Up Tiger Lily?, which barely counts. Wonder what delights he has in store for us?
A French-language 'Sinister Thriller'...and then retirement from film to write books and short pieces.
https://variety.com/2022/film/global/woody-allen-retirement-1235375939/
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 18 September 2022 15:56 (one year ago) link
I thought this was going to be about Rosie O-Donnell on Howard Stern:
In the case of Allen, the film was 1999's Sweet and Lowdown, with Sean Penn and Uma Thurman. "I had done an HBO special where I said everything about him," O'Donnell told Stern. (Spoiler: She did not have good things to say about Allen.) "And then I got on my show. So it's the first year of my show and I get a call and they said, 'He wants you to be in (Sweet and Lowdown). I said, 'Please send him my HBO special.' And the woman said, 'Oh he's already seen it.' And I said, 'Send it anyway with two words: F--- and no.' And I sent it to him."According to O'Donnell, Allen's team persisted in asking after her to play a role despite her comments. "They called back and said, 'He really wants you to do it. He'd like to talk to you about it,'" she recalled. "I said, 'I'm not doing it. I'm not working for him or with him and being associated with him.'"
According to O'Donnell, Allen's team persisted in asking after her to play a role despite her comments. "They called back and said, 'He really wants you to do it. He'd like to talk to you about it,'" she recalled. "I said, 'I'm not doing it. I'm not working for him or with him and being associated with him.'"
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 18 September 2022 16:22 (one year ago) link
Allen also was reportedly surprised when Mia Farrow didn't want to star in Manhattan Murder Mystery after the allegations emerged.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 18 September 2022 16:28 (one year ago) link
Cosmic levels of self-absorption, zero self-awareness.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Sunday, 18 September 2022 16:44 (one year ago) link
Guess we'll never get to see some of these.
Woody's next 50: pic.twitter.com/ZGI6ZW2fgY— Tim Heidecker (@timheidecker) June 21, 2016
― jaymc, Sunday, 18 September 2022 17:25 (one year ago) link
He’s retiring to spend more time marrying his family. https://t.co/CLW0SOsYRe— Ariel Dumas (@ArielDumas) September 18, 2022
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 19 September 2022 17:11 (one year ago) link
Allen's people now saying the original source misquoted him, and that he has no plans to retire from filmmaking.
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 19 September 2022 19:04 (one year ago) link