Bulletin: Woody Allen Is Still Very Funny
By Norm Schrager at August 26, 2008 | 10:43 pm | Print
Last week, Woody Allen contributed faux “Spanish diary” excerpts to the New York Times, chronicling the making of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. There are plenty of links to the piece out there, but little opinion, so here’s mine: This is a joy to read, a throwback to Allen’s iconic style of humor from his early 1970s films (Everything You Always Wanted to Know…, Sleeper, Love and Death).
It’s Freud meets Marx Brothers. Self-effacing smartness and goofy wordplay. Most of all, it’s Allen playing on the public’s perception of him and his work. Name the last movie where he’s done all that successfully…
A sampling of personal favorites:
:: April 2
Offered role to Scarlett Johansson. Said before she could accept, script must be approved by her agent, then by her mother, with whom she’s close. Following that it must be approved by her agent’s mother. In middle of negotiation she changed agents — then changed mothers. She’s gifted but can be a handful.
This exchange could have been in Love and Death:
:: July 3
Scarlett came to me today with one of those questions actors ask, “What’s my motivation?” I shot back, “Your salary.” She said fine but that she needed a lot more motivation to continue. About triple. Otherwise she threatened to walk. I called her bluff and walked first. Then she walked. Now we were rather far apart and had to yell to be heard. Then she threatened to hop. I hopped too, and soon we were at an impasse. At the impasse I ran into friends, and we all drank, and of course I got stuck with the check.
Read the entire piece on The New York Times website
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[...] Also-rans: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, [...]