Woody Allen talks about why the romance of filmmaking has disappeared

Woody Allen

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Woody Allen isn’t quite sure what he wants to do next in the film industry, because he feels that “all the romance of filmmaking is gone.”

In an interview with Air mailwhich was published online on Saturday, the director was asked about his latest film Opportunity couphis 50th film, and the delays he faced in its release in North American markets.

“It doesn’t matter to me if I get deployed here or not,” Allen said. “Once I do it, I don’t follow it anymore. Distribution isn’t what it used to be. Now distribution is two weeks in the cinema… and then that’s it. I mean, Annie Hall It was shown in New York cinemas for a little over a year. It would be in one theater for six or seven months, then someone would pick it up and it would hang around for a few more months. The whole business has changed, and not in an attractive way. All the romance in filmmaking has disappeared.

In February, Hollywood Reporter It exclusively reported that MPI Media Group will release the picture in the US on April 5 and digitally/VOD on April 12 after its debut at the Venice Film Festival in September 2023. This came after ‘samizdat’ links to Opportunity coup It began to spread among American fans.

Allen has previously reflected on his future in filmmaking, saying in 2022 that “a lot of the excitement has gone away” for him in the streaming era. In his last interview, he said he was still “on the fence about it.”

“I don’t want to have to go out to collect money. I find that a pain in the neck Rainy day in New York The manager said. “But if someone came and approached us and said we want to support the film, I would think about it seriously. I probably wouldn’t have the willpower to say no, because I have so many ideas.”

In recent years, Allen’s popularity in the United States has declined dramatically amid the #MeToo movement and sexual assault allegations from his adopted stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow, have resurfaced. Allen denied the accusations and the Connecticut state’s attorney did not bring any charges against him after a 1993 investigation.

However, the director remained a polarizing figure, and ended up canceling his four-film, $68 million deal with Amazon Studios. Since then, he has had difficulty finding distribution for his latest titles.

And elsewhere in his interview with Air mailAllen was asked about the idea of ​​“cancellation” in society.

He added: “Someone asked me about cancel culture, and I said: If you are going to be cancelled, this is the culture you want to be canceled from.” “Because who wants to be part of this culture?”