Woody Allen writes on the same typewriter he's owned since he was eleven. By the time he was seventeen he was making more money than his parents, writing jokes for newspapers. When he needs to cut and paste he uses a scissors and a stapler. Every Monday night he plays clarinet at a club. When
Annie Hall won 4 Oscars, Woody Allen wasn't there because he was playing clarinet at the club. He was so ashamed of
Manhattan that he offered to pay the studio not to release it. Larry David saw
Take the Money and Run during army boot camp and thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. Woody Allen's mother wears bright red lipstick and tells her son, if only she hadn't been so strict with him, maybe he would be a little (and here, she searches for the right word) softer. When he first started performing standup, he would get so nervous he would vomit.
Stardust Memories is his favorite of his films. When it came out, following the wild success of
Manhattan, the critics panned it. You thought you had seen every Woody Allen movie. But you've never even heard of
Stardust Memories. You check it out of the library and watch it, engrossed, loving every moment. Your husband falls asleep on the couch halfway through. Whenever you watch a Woody Allen movie with him, (or whenever you mention Woody Allen to anyone for that matter), he (they) always says (say) the same thing. He married his step-daughter. They can't get over it. You, on the other hand, don't particularly care. You love his movies, though not especially the early funny ones.
I LOVE Woody Allen films. Matt would probably fall asleep beside me too. But, don't you love his characters? The story can be about virtually...nothing...and yet the characters are so interesting and real/human/quirky (???) that they are enough of a story for me. Do you know what I mean? By the way, is there really a Woody Allen film called Bananas? Because I have not been able to find it. One of my favorites is the one where they drill beneath the empty storefront to rob a bank and the wife makes cookies there as a cover for them and she ends up rich and famous for the bakery. Forgot the name though. Funny to me when she tells him to "Shutcha bazoo!"
ReplyDeleteYes, Bananas is one of his "early funny films." The one you are referring to must be Take The Money and Run, though I haven't seen that one. I love his recent ones Midnight in Paris and Matchpoint. Amazing that he has been making excellent art all his life.
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