Woody Allen says filmmaking isn’t as ‘thrilling’ any more in Alec Baldwin interview
Allen added that his 50th film, which he will shoot in Paris later this year, will determine whether he continues to make movies
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Woody Allen told Alec Baldwin that he’s considering ending his filmmaking career during an Instagram Live interview on Tuesday (28 June).
The 87-year-old director with 49 feature films to his credit joined Baldwin for the 45-minute interview, during which they spoke about Allen’s writing, the use of profanity in his films, and the current state of Broadway.
The two men – each with significant controversies currently attached to them – steered clear of addressing either the abuse allegations against Allen or the fatal shooting on the set of Baldwin’s western Rust last year.
The public comment options were turned off, and the interview drew an audience of between 2,400 and 2,700.
At one point, Allen told Baldwin that movie-making in the age of streaming had lost “a lot of the thrill” for him.
“A lot of the thrill is gone,” the Match Point director said, adding: “Now you do a movie and you get a couple of weeks in a movie house, and then it goes to streaming or pay per view. It’s not the same. It’s not as enjoyable to me.”
The duo also spoke about Covid-19, and how Allen hadn’t contracted the virus yet. During this portion of the interview, Allen admitted he felt relief at the thought of never making a movie after he emerged from a period of regret over the pandemic shutting down a film he was working on.
“I thought: ‘Gee, I like it under the bed. I don’t have go out and I don’t have to make a film and be cold in the winter and hot in the summer and making decisions all day.’”
However, Allen will direct his 50th film in Paris later this year before deciding whether to call it quits, he told Baldwin.
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“I’m going to make another one, and I’ll see how it feels,” he said to his frequent collaborator.
Baldwin has worked with Allen on a number of films, including To Rome with Love, Alice and Blue Jasmine.
Allen has continued to face backlash after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, accused him of molesting her as a child. Allen has denied the allegations and no charges have been brought against him.
When Baldwin first announced to his fans that he would be interviewing Allen, he stated that he had “ZERO INTEREST in anyone’s judgments and sanctimonious posts here”.
“If you believe that a trial should be conducted by way of an HBO documentary, that’s your issue.”
Baldwin was referring to the Allen v Farrow documentary that came out on HBO in February last year and re-examined Dylan’s allegations against the filmmaker. The docuseries was made with the participation of Dylan, her brother and mother Mia.
Baldwin himself is the subject of multiple lawsuits after he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in New Mexico last October.
Baldwin has said he was pointing the gun at the cinematographer, at her instruction, when it went off without him pulling the trigger.
Additional reporting by Associated Press