All posts tagged as: woody allen
Woody Allen Wails on the Clarinet
Who knew that comedian, writer, actor, playwright, and all around neurotic genius Woody Allen could also wail on the clarinet ? Not me!
What began as a teenage hobby has led to regular public performances at various small venues in Manhattan, with occasional appearances at various jazz festivals. Allen joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the New Orleans Funeral Ragtime Orchestra in performances that provided the film score for his 1973 comedy Sleeper, and a rare European tour in 1996 featuring Allen was the subject of the documentary Wild Man Blues.
If you live in New York and can afford to shell out the $75 to see first hand Woody Allen live in concert, you should do it.
Every Monday through December 7th Woody Allen & The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band play at the Carlyle Hotel on E. 76th Street at Madison Ave. Details
of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes identifies with Woody’s Jewishness
I’m not Jewish, but I can identify in some respects with Woody’s nebbish, nerdy Jewish outlook and persona that he portrays in his movies.
“It’s funny, I think it’s in Deconstructing Harry that his on-screen brother-in-law accuses him of being a self-loathing Jew. Woody says, ‘Sure, I hate myself, but it’s not because I’m Jewish.’ I think the Jewish thing plays a key role in some of his earlier works – his depiction of rabbis as these little emperors, or something (’You’ve never seen a Jew? Here, I have some sketches. Not all of them have these horns; the Russian ones have stripes,’ – Love and Death). I think he’s probably pretty dubious of the whole thing. There are plenty of really famous Jewish comedians, but you usually don’t think of Catholics, say, as being that funny. The Church generally doesn’t have a sense of humour – look at what happened to Sinéad O’Connor. Although I think she had the last laugh, didn’t she become a priest? There’s a lot of examples of, you know, the over-bearing, overwrought Jewish mother – the incredible guilt complexes and strange dynamic between the son and the mother in the household. I don’t particularly regret missing out on the wonderful opportunity of having had a Jewish childhood; my mom is pretty adept at laying on the guilt, so I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything.”
Hat tip to The Daily Swarm
Full article at Quietus
Woody Win's Dov's Money!!
Neurotic and brilliant filmmaker Woody Allen settled out of court yesterday and secured $5 million from the uber hipster/sleezy clothing giant, American Apparel, specifically founder Dov Charney A Pocket Full of Rye hd . Allen sued the clothing company for $10 million last year after they ran ads of him in black Hasidic garb in a scene from his film “Annie Hall” without permission.
The deal was reached moments before jury selection was set to start in Manhattan Federal Court, and before Charney’s lawyers could follow through on plans to air Allen’s dirty laundry. The company’s lawyers had made noise about calling Mia Farrow- Allen’s ex and the adoptive mother of his wife, Soon-Yi Previn- as a witness. Still, Charney insisted the dispute was not personal.
Charney had this to say, “Naturally there is some relief of not having to go through a trial but I also harbor a sense of remorse and sadness for not arguing an important issue regarding the First Amendment, particularly the ability of an individual or corporation to invoke the likeness of a public figure in a satiric and social statement.”
and Allen this, “Threats and press leaks by American Apparel designed to smear me did not work, and a scheme to call a long list of witnesses who had absolutely nothing to do with the case was also disallowed by the court.”
Allen’s latest effort, Whatever Works features Larry David and hits theaters June 19th.
Watch the trailer HERE
Whatever Works!
It’s just been announced that Woody Allen’s new film, Whatever Works will be opening the Tribea Film Festival on April 22nd. Whatever Works is Allen’s first film shot in his hometown of New York since 2004. His last few films have been shot overseas, showing his obsession with Europe especially France & Spain.
“Whatever Works” is a romantic comedy starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley Jr. and Patricia Clarkson.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Allen stated that “the film will be a comedy, but, “a slightly different one for me. It’s a blackish comedy.” Allen also had this to say about his choice of Larry David as the leading role, ”He’s got a great thing of his own. He’s got a great, what would you call it, sarcastic, sour or vitriolic, wonderful, wonderful, no nonsense sense of humor.”
Clip of Woody doing stand-up circa 1965 after the jump