Woody Allen Wins Big at Italian Box Office

Don't let the overseas Battleship hype fool you: "Allen's Rome-set pic, consisting of four non-intersecting vignettes, one of which starring Roberto Benigni — making a rare appearance in a film not directed by himself — pulled more alone than the total weekend gross of the five titles that follow it in Italy's weekend box office chart: Battleship, Titanic 3D, Street Dance 2, Mirror Mirror and The Intouchables, which together totaled $3.54 million this weekend. 'The combined effect of Allen and Benigni proved to be huge magnet,' said one Italo exhibber." Related: I am totally calling my next band Italo Exhibber. [Variety

Bop Decameron or Nero Fiddled: Which Woody Allen Title is More Problematic?

Some of Woody Allen's best films have had simple, straightforward film titles (Annie Hall! Crimes and Misdemeanors! Hannah and Her Sisters! Even Midnight in Paris...). But you know, I thought there was really something catchy to Bop Decameron, the former title of his current Rome-set next flick. Apparently, I may have been the only one who liked it; as Anne Thompson reports, Allen's changed the title to Nero Fiddled. Riiiight.

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