woody_allen_final.pdf

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British Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe 2005David Lean Lecture given by Woody Allen

17December 2005


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Overview

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ve: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex(1972)er: Woody Allen (1970),Getty Images

UnitedArt

ists/TheKobalCollection

Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn onDecember 1, 1935, Woody Allen began to hone hisJewish-American angst-ridden humour from the ageof 15, writing one-liners for newspaper columns inhis native New York. This led to him writing jokesfor some of Americas greatest comics, l ike SidCaesar, during the Fifties. Before too long, and withthe encouragement of his agents (later producers)Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins, Woody was himselfout front perfecting an increasingly popular stand-uproutine in nightclubs and on television. By the mid-Sixties , hed broken into films,co-starring with Peter OToole and Peter Sellers inhis self-scripted Whats New, Pussycat?, followed bythe role of Little Jimmy Bond (007s nephew) in thewildly uneven Bond spoof, Casino Royale. At theend of the decade, Woody wrote and appeared inhis own Broadway hit, Play It Again, Samand then,with Take The Money And Run, initiated his own

singular strand of American cinema. As the movie-obsessed romantic loser in one and a bunglingrobber in the other, he also created aspects of acharacter that would regularly re-appear in manyof his subsequent film forays. And what films there have been downthe years with and without Woody himself invariations of that rather self-deprecating neurotic.Gloriously nostalgic, frequently melancholic,occasionally autobiographical, many side-splittinglyfunny often a smart mix of all these things

his films are regularly crafted as cinematic loveletters to a beloved New York. Several of themhave, of course, personally garnered him awardson both sides of the Atlantic, including severalOscars and many BAFTAs for films likeAnnieHall,Manhattan,Broadway Danny Rose,The PurpleRose Of Cairo,Hannah And Her Sisters andHusbanAnd Wives.

If all this British acclaim wasnt enough,the ever-modest Woody who famously prefersclarinet-playing to awards ceremonies was givena BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, the third native-born American (following John Huston and SteveSpielberg) to receive the honour. Returning thefavour, as it were, he has recently swapped NewYork for London as his film city of choice withsuccessive movies, Match Pointand Scoop, shot onlocation with predominantly British cast and crew

A self-confessed Anglophile, he now

enthuses about London with its relaxed temperamand lovely skies, our way with language, ourtechnicians and actors. From a peerless talent whohas worked with some of the worlds best on bothsides of the camera, this is perhaps the ultimatecompliment. He claims that filmmaking keeps himtherapeutically, out of the house. His legions offans can only hope Woody Allen continues creatiand exploring.

Quentin Falk

As director, screenwriter and sometime co-star, WoodyAllen has averaged a film a year for more than 35years.Such astonishing abundance from the man, once piquantdescribed as a Chaplin hero for the chattering classes,makes other contemporary filmmakers seem positivelylaggard by comparison. Just 70, he has created a bodyof work that is not only unique but resolutely in progress


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ve: Love And Death(1975)

Introduction

RexFeatures

What sets Woody Allen apart from all other directorsis the personal, intimate nature of his films combinedwith a great variety of tones from slapstick comedyto probing psychological dramas. Whatever form he isworking in, a Woody Allen film can never be mistakenfor the work of anyone else.

Paul AusterWriter

Im probably not supposed to take sides clos e toAwards time, but Woody Allen is one of my al l-timefavourite directors. In the early seventies I lived inNew York for five years from SleepertoAnnie Hall and although Ill always be a Yorkshireman atheart, the New York tones of Woodys films areas familiar and comfortable to me now as theywere then. Something about that over-emphasised,puzzled wit just chimes with my inner ear, feels likethe epitome of intelligent ur ban comedy. Manhattanwent onto my top-ten movie list in 1979, and I seeno reason for it ever to come off. In the twenty-fiveyears since then his films have been a wonderfulfact of life, arriving like family for a visit, dauntinglyregular, more or less welcome according to themood of the moment but always loved, alwaysspecial. The idea of having the man whos written

some of the funniest lines of all time on our stagefor an interview just fills me with glee.

Duncan Kenworthy OBEChairman of the Academy; Film producer

Woody Allen is my favourite film director ever.Im sorry to read that he doesnt rate himsel fparticularly highly, giving himself a B. I thinkhe might be falling prey to the critical conspiracythat theres something higher quality and moretruthful about serious things and old things in blaand white. My favourite black and white fil m ofall time is Manhattan. My favourite film about lovisAnnie Hall. My favourite funny film is Love AndDeath. My favourite film for simply looking atthe astonishing prettiness of women is Celebrity.My favourite film with the word and in the titleis Crimes And Misdemeanours. And to be honest,my second favourite actor in the history of cinemis Woody Allen and hes only second becauseMarlon Brando has a better body. Woody Allen was a consistently great

maker of stupid and funny films (in itself a massivachievement), and then he decided to take thatskill and make films about real life instead, filmsabout the great muddle of l ife and love andembarrassment and comedy and compromiseand heartbreak and death. I cant imagine what I would be doingprofessionally if it werent for Woody Allens film

Richard CurtisWriter and Director


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ve:Annie Hall(1977)

Observations

I like Woody very much. We have only met onceIt was in New York, during my es cape from Swed1976probably. He called me, and I asked him tocome and visit me in my hotel room. I rememberthat we talked about professional thing s. We wereboth very fond of long takes, and we talked abouthow to set up a scene and about lighting. Anothertime he called me from Stockholm, when hesuggested that he should come and pay me a visithere on Fr island. I said: I dont think you willlike it, because there is no asphalt here. He calledme the day after and s aid that Mia doesnt wantto go. I think that might have been him as well.

I like the fact that Woody is as prolific asI was once upon a time, making at least one filma year. Crimes And Misdemeanors, which I saw somyears ago, is a bloody good film. But naturally,besides that,Annie Hall andManhattanare myfavourites. They are enchanting. He has, of coursmade a few rather bad films as well but then,who hasnt?

Ingmar BergmanDirector

What I li ke about Woody and Woodys films isthat he dares to put the male characters at exposure.The male characters are not conventional heroes.He shows them in all their frailty. They can beweak and indecisive. There are often two insecureor unstable persons meeting in Woodys films,a woman and a man. As a female spectator youhave this feeling of recognition, because Woodyreally sees the women hes portraying in his films.Whichever Woody Allen fi lm it might be, youleave the cinema with a smile on your face, becauseyouve seen a film where the female characterin the movie also has been seen and recognised.

My favorite isAnnie Hall, because its a filmabout a woman getting liberated. I was the sameage as Annie Hall when I saw the film for thefirst time, so I was very taken by it. I think itsas important a film as Bergmans Scenes From AMarriage. Both films g ive an account of a womanwhos finding her real self, without making astrong Joan of Arc figure out of her.

Liv UllmannActress

UnitedArtists/TheKobalCollection

Like Kafka, whose genius has allowed us to perceive aKafkaesque universe, Woody Allens genius has alloweus to perceive an Allenesque universe: mordantly funnygently ironic, the absurdity of the cosmos tempered bymelancholy and a pervading sense of our common humapredicament, of finitude, incompleteness, and loss.

He is the most urban, perhaps urbane, of contemporarfilmmakers, for whom the city is a landscape thrummingwith interior life.

Joyce Carol OatesWriter


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sights Cast Members

I think that Woodysprimary talent as adirector is in his casting.He knows who he wantsto have in every part,and he chooses the actorshe thinks most suitablefor these parts. And thenhe just goes from there.

ody has no ego at all. Thats one of his reallyderful characteristics.

Woody is hilarious to work with as actor. In Scoop, the film we made togetherummer, Woody had a really ridiculous punch

that he came up with on the spot. It was veryy, very goofy, and in the first take we laughed

hrough it. So Woody said: lets shoot it again!we had to shoot that scene two days in a rowuse Woody could not hold a strai ght face whenad to say his line. We actually never fully gotcene. It became an ongoing two days hysteria.came just ridiculous in the end. That was afond memory.

Woody Allens films arereflective of the totalityof his authorship. Theideas, the writing, thelook of the films, themusic all are uniquelyWoodys vision. I thinkthat possibly one ofthe reasons why Woody

Allen chose to be a film director is because it is adiscipline in which he can employ all of his talents.

Woody does very little coverage, oftenchoosing to shoot a master and not going in forcoverage. I remember a set-up in New York for

Manhattan Murder Mysteryworking in a scene withDiane Keaton, Alan A lda and Woody. He slippedin and out seamlessly from actor to director. I wasin a slight panic because I was supposed to be thebrains of the operation and had lots of lines. Woodyknew that I had a date that evening and just saiddont worry, youll be out of here by lunchtime.He has the ability to impart an atmosphere ofrelaxation, even when the pressure is on.

Woodys personal universe comes from the uniqueway he sees life. You could not possibly mi stakeany Woody Allen film for the work of someoneelse. It is so specific to his state of mind and worldview that it could not emanate from another.This applies to the more serious dramas as wellas to the comedies. I think Husbands And Wiveswas one of hisbest films. The brilliant insights into characterand relationships were among his most insightful and painfully funny. I spent the first few workingdays feeling insecure and worried because he didnttell me very much as we worked. I asked JudyDavis about it. She said, Trust hi m, if he doesnt

like it hell say something. If he doesnt say anything,then its good. I took her advice and had a finetime during the rest of the film. Some of my favourite Woody movies are:Sweet And Lowdown, Radio Days, Hannah And HerSisters, Crimes And Misdemeanors, Love And Death,Sleeper andZelig.

I was in New York City in the middle of sometempestuous love affair. My agents called to tellme that Woody Allen wanted to meet me for hisfall project, Husbands And Wives. He is famousfor meeting actors for maybe two minutes, nomatter how famous they are. My meeting lastedsix (I timed it!), maybe a good sign since I gotthe part. I met the beautiful and wonderful MiaFarrow. My character was to fall in love withher (and I did a little). On my first day, WoodyAllen said : If the words dont fit your mouth,change them but keep the g ags. I didnt haveany gags and now was really worried. But all thisworry and concern suited my guy in the movie.

Allens set is so focused and concentratedthat I took to it. Every scene was hand-heldcamera, which meant that we could r un thewhole scene for sometimes three minutes, whichfor a movie is a long t ime. We would start shootinat 10:00am and wrap by 4:00am, five days a week:civilized! I loved working with Allen. Two, threetakes maximum. I was honoured to be a part of it

arlett Johanssonctress

Sydney PollackDirector/Producer/Actor

Anjelica HustonActress/Director/Producer

Liam NeesonActor


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sights Crew Members

Working with Woody is always an excitingexperience. His primary goal is to faithfullyachieve his vision. In matters of his art, Woody isa true genius never compromising nor distractedWoody is in total control of every a spect of theproject, from writing, casting and directing, to setdesign, wardrobe, editing, music etc. He is alwaysaccessible and open to hearing ideas from variousspecialists in all fields, but ultimately he makesthe final decision according to his vision. Whenthings work for him, he is very complimentaryof others; when things do not reflect his vision,he only blames himself.

There is something in every film that

I find insightful: Zelig what people are reallylike and the way human nature works; CrimesAnd Misdemeanors a brilliant mix of seriousand humorous observations on the realities oflife, ordinary people and what they may be capabof; Bullets Over Broadway a wonderfully funnydepiction of an era and a profound comment onart and the artist; Hollywood Ending a very funnyidea, fully realised, about love, life and insecuritieMatch Point a brilliant melodrama that commentprofoundly on class systems, talent and luck.

Anyone who loves filmknows that Woody Allenfilms are different. As acinematographer, it wasa delight working witha master who knows hiscraft, a man who distilsthe essence of each s ceneand refuses to overburden

it with meaningless flourishes. In fact, hes concernedif a shot looks l ike its been dreamt up by thefilmmakers. He likes covering scenes in only a fewshots yet the viewer doesnt feel its slow or ted ious.Hes ingenious in finding ways to keep the actors

moving so the camera can either follow them or letthem leave the frame. He knows not to be mi sledby the images from the video-assist, so doesnt useone, and that the best place to direct from is besidethe camera.

He always has a brilliant cast and Match Pointwas no exception. Sometimes they were surpri sedthat we had completed a scene with only a few shots.Those few shots were very considered yet took littletime to complete. Thought is always the mainelement with Woodys work.

To me, Woodys speciallandmark as a directoris his ability to writeand direct for women,because when I look backthroughout his films,its the actresses and thekaleidoscope of charactersthey play that live in

memory. I admire his modesty and the almoste loyalty he instills in his trusted collaborators.

I feel extremely lucky to have worked withof my heroes. Hes gracious, modest to a faultprobably one of the few true cinematic auteurs

king today. I still feel a little in awe evengh its thirteen years si nce we met on HusbandsWivesand hope to god to have his energyhard-work ethic when I am 70! I know hedrawer ful l of ideas that I for one would lovee on film, and he certainly has the energyrectors half his age.

My favourite Woody Allen film? This hase Husbands And Wives, because he was so braveuncompromising and Judy Daviss raw painhaunts me even after thirteen years.

When Woody left the city which he had madesynonymous with his film narrative, choosingLondon as the location for Match Point, there wasa palpable electricity generated around the Britishindustry. Every Production Designer must at sometime in t heir career have looked at Manhattan,Interiors, Hannah And Her Sistersand countless othersand wanted to emulate some of those classic shots.Suddenly there we were, walking the streets ofLondon with the man himself, making a WoodyAllen Film. I quickly began to see London in a verydifferent way. No longer was it just the cit y we livedin, loved and were proud of, but we were choosing

locations to accommodate those long, often singleshots with which Woody stages his action and tellshis story. The rushes screenings were absoluteworking sessions of debate and analysis of the workwe were doing. We were free to create mood andcharacter but bound together by Woodys desire fora realistic geography of the city. This is a Directorwho is so confident in his craft and so prepared inthe way he will shoot the movie that all energiescan go directly into creating the look.

ucy Darwinoducer

Letty AronsonProducer

Remi Adefarasin BSCCinematographer

Jim ClayProduction Designer


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ve:On location, filmingAlice(1990)

In His Own Words

BritishFilm

Institute

All extracts taken from: Woody Allen On Woody Allen(revised edition 2004), edited by Stig Bjrkman, publishedby Faber and Faber Limited.

The British film and theatrical community is greatand always has been g reat. They have a much widervariety of performers than we haveIn general, theUnited States, for the most part, usually produces acertain kind of male star. You know, gunfighters andtough guys. Whereas in England you can get realmen. Just regular, normal men. So Ive relied onEnglish actors a number of times, because I couldntfind the American actors to do what I wanted.

I make so many films, that I dont care aboutindividual successes or failuresIve tried veryhard to make my films into a non-event. I just wantto work, thats all. Just put the film out for peopleto see, just keep grinding them out. I hope Ill havea long and healthy life, that I can keep workingall the time, and that I can look back in my old

age and say, I made fif ty movies and some of themwere excellent and some of them not so good andsome were funny I just dont want to get into thatsituation that all of my contemporaries are in, wherethey make one film every few years and its a BigEvent. Thats why Ive always admired Bergman.Hed be working quietly on the isl and and wouldmake a little tiny film and put it out, and then hedbe working on the next one. You know, the workwas important. Not the eventual success or failure,the money or the critical reception. Whats importantis that your work is part of your daily l ife...

I just feel that you must i f youre operating at themaximum of your capabilities aim at very, veryhigh material. And that to me would be the spiritual,existential realm.

It has been said, t hat if I have any one big themein my movies, its got to do w ith the differencebetween fantasy and reality. It comes up veryfrequently in my films. I think what it boils downto, really, is t hat I hate realit y. But, you know,

unfortunately its the only place where we canget a good steak dinner.


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Filmography

ve: Woody Allen (2004)

1965 Whats New Pussycat ? screenwriter, actor1966 Whats Up, Tiger Lily? co-screenwriter, actor1967 Casino Royale actor1969 Take The Money And Run director,

co-screenwriter, actor1971 Bananas director, co-screenwriter, actor1972 Everyth ing You Always Wanted To Know

About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)director, screenwriter, actor

1972 Play It Again, Sam screenwriter, actor1973 Sleeper director, co-screenwriter, actor1975 Love And Death director, screenwriter, actor1976 The Front actor1977 Annie Hall director, co-screenwriter, actor1978 Interiors director, screenwriter1979 Manhattan director, co-screenwriter, actor1980 Stardust Memories director,

screenwriter, actor1982 A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy director,

screenwriter, actor1983 Zelig director, screenwriter, actor1984 Broadway Danny Rose director,

screenwriter, actor1985 The Purple Rose Of Cairo director,

screenwriter1986 Hannah And Her Sisters director,

screenwriter, actor1987 Radio Days director, screenwriter1987 September director, screenwriter1988 Another Woman director, screenwriter1989 New York Stories (Oedipus Wrecks)

director, screenwriter, actor1990 Crimes And Misdemeanors director,

screenwriter, actor1990 Alice director, screenwriter1991 Scenes From A Mall actor1992 Shadows And Fog director,

screenwriter, actor1992 Husbands And Wives director,

screenwriter, actor

1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery director,co-screenwriter, actor

1994 Bullets Over Broadwaydirector, co-screenwriter

1994 Dont Drink The Water (Made-for- televisionmovie) director, screenwriter, actor

1995 Mighty Aphroditedi rector, screenwriter, actor1995 The Sunshine Boys (Made-for-television

movie) actor1996 Everyone Says I Love You director,

screenwriter, actor

1997 Deconstructing Harry director,screenwriter, actor

1998 Celebrity director, screenwriter1998 Antz actor1999 The Impostors actor *cameo1999 Company Man actor *cameo1999 Sweet And Lowdown director, screenwriter1999 Picking Up The Pieces actor2000 Small Time Crooks director,

screenwriter, actor2001 The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion director,

screenwriter, actor2002 Hollywood Ending director,

screenwriter, actor2003 Anything Else director, screenwriter, actor2004 Melinda And Melinda director, screenwrite2005 Match Point director, screenwriter

Honours and Awards

BAFTA Award summaryWoody Allen has received:Four nominations for DirectorWon forAnnie Halland Hannah And Her Sisters

10nominations for ScreenplayWon forAnnie Hall, Manhattan, Broadway DannyRose, The Purple Rose Of Cairo, Hannah And HerSistersand Husbands And Wives

Three nominations for Actor

BAFTA Fellowship 1997

His films have received:Six nominations for FilmWon forAnnie Hall, Manhattanand The PurpleRose Of Cairo

Academy AwardsummaryWoody Allen has received:Six nominations for Best Director

Won forAnnie Hall

13nominations for Best Original ScreenplayWon forAnnie Halland Hannah And Her Sisters

One nomination for Best Actor

His films have received:Two nominations for Bes t PictureWon forAnnie Hall

Nicolas

Guerin/Azimuts/Corbis


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Thanks

Anthony ReevesThe David Lean FoundationWoody AllenDuncan Kenworthy OBELucy Darwin

Suzanne NobleMark KermodeAmanda RaynerAmy BrownAlex Cook

Clips MontageCourtesy of DreamWorks

Print ProgrammeEditor: Ruth GrenvilleContributing Editor: Stig Bjrkman

Editorial Assistant: Christine Beck

ContributorsRemi Adefarasin BSCLetty AronsonPaul AusterIngmar BergmanJim ClayRichard CurtisQuentin FalkAnjelica Huston

Scarlett JohanssonLiam NeesonJoyce Carol OatesSydney PollackLiv Ullmann

Design: BrownsPrint: St Ives Westerham PressPrinted on: Consort Silk Blue WhiteSupplied by Howard Smith Paperwww.hspg.com

Event FilmingNational Film and Television School

Camera Co-ordinator: Brian TufanoSound Co-ordinator: Andrew Boulton

Co-ordinator: Judy McDonnellCamera: Liam Landoli, Keidrych Wooley,Kate Reid, Eduard Grau TarragonaSound: Diana Bond Smith, Sara de OliveiraLima, Michael Palmer, Karl Thorpe Morgan,Tawakalitu Durowoju, Linda BrenonEditor: Sarah MetcalfeDirector: Ben Morris

The David Lean Foundation is a generoussupporter of the work of the National Filmand Television School.

The British Academy Award is basedon a design by Mitzi Cunlif fe BAFTA Publishing 2005

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