New York was central to most of Woody Allen's film career until he headed to Europe in the mid-2000s, with features set in London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona, but if some Allen fans have their way, he'll be shooting in Israel. Now that he has To Rome With Love making its way to screens in the U.S., the Oscar-winning filmmaker is reportedly headed to San Francisco for his next project, which will star Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale and curiously, Andrew Dice Clay. But if a group of L.A.-based Jewish campaigners have any say, his follow-up will be in Israel and they're looking to put their crowd-funding wares to the test in order to lure Allen to film in the Jewish state.
more »
As expected, The Amazing Spider-Man spun up impressive numbers over the Friday - Saturday weekend, adding to its totals since rolling out in the U.S. on Tuesday ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The film topped the overall box office and had one of the largest per screen averages in release, though the top PSA went to specialty release Beasts of the Southern Wild in its second weekend, though its screen count is still very limited. Last weekend's number one Ted held steady in second place on the b.o. rankings, while Brave and Savages came in third and fourth respectively.
more »
Woody Allen has cemented an historic onscreen legacy by managing to play a grand total of one single character for the last 47 years. (What versatility!) Needless to say, it’s been one hell of a character: Allen’s extreme version of himself, trading on some of the most base cultural stereotypes out there about New Yorkers, Jews and intellectuals, has, logically or not, repeatedly held mainstream America’s interest. Yet, in a halfhearted nod to the idea of variety, Allen hasn’t always played the character himself – due to the constraints of age, style, and physical type, he’s occasionally enlisted actors to come in and do their best Woody Allen imitation over the years. With a new addition to the coterie coming in To Rome With Love – Jesse Eisenberg is a neo-Woody if ever there was one – it’s worthwhile to take a look back at Allen’s nine most entertaining surrogates.
more »
Before last year’s wistfully joyous Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s movies had gotten so self-conscious and sour-spirited — alleged “returns to form” Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream and Vicky Cristina Barcelona included — that it was hard to have any hope for his future. Do older filmmakers really need a future, especially if, as Allen has, they’ve already banked more than a career’s worth of fine work amid the failures? If they really enjoy working, as Allen seems to, I think they do — a future to shoot for, even if it’s just tomorrow as opposed to next year, might be the very thing that makes them feel alive.
more »
Some were skeptical that Woody Allen would make an appearance at the opening night of the LA Film Festival, even with his latest Euro-whimsy To Rome With Love premiering in the kick-off slot Thursday night. But show up Woody did, with five of his starlets in tow — including Alison Pill, Greta Gerwig, and a dazzling Penelope Cruz — to debut his 43rd feature film with a few charmingly self-deprecating zingers.
more »
The Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled its lineup of nearly 200 features, shorts and more today. This year's event, which comprises work from 30 countries, will open with the North American premiere of Woody Allen's To Rome With Love (as previously announced), while the world premiere of Warner Bros.' Magic Mike by Steven Soderbergh will close out the festival, which runs June 14 - 24 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
more »
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
Woody Allen continues his cinematic Eurotrip with To Rome With Love, which aims to repeat the formula of pitting navel-gazing privileged Americans against Old World locales with charming results. While it doesn't go for the transformative magic of Midnight in Paris, will Woody's Rome outing capture something special in Italy? Watch the first trailer below.
more »
"Sony Pictures Classics announced that on June 22 it will release Woody Allen’s latest film, the newly titled To Rome With Love. To Rome With Love was a name selected as an homage to the eternal city of Rome where the film was shot on location last summer. This will be used for its worldwide release. The film’s former title, Nero Fiddled, while an appropriate and humorous phrase in the U.S., is not a familiar expression overseas and many international territories preferred a more globally understood name." [SPC]
