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Now on DVD and Blu-ray-Promised Land -
Reacher Coming to DVD and Blu-ray -
Coming to Blu-ray and DVD-Django Unchain ... -
John Ford's Favorite Film -
Coming to Blu-ray and DVD-The Impossible
Now on DVD and Blu-ray-Hyde Park on Huds ...
MAKING FILM SCHOLARSHIP FUN
Now on DVD/Blu-ray—This Is 40
Playing Nationwide: On the Road
Celeste and Jesse Forever on DVD and Blu ...
Photographic Memory—Now on DVD and Blu-R ...
HOORAY FOR 1933—EIGHTY YEARS LATERMore Woody Allen
Weide also spoke to many colleagues, friends, actors, and even ex-lovers including Louise Lasser and Diane Keaton, along with his sister (and producer) Letty Aronson, plus Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson, Mariel Hemingway, cinematographers Gordon Willis and Vilmos Zsigmond, writing collaborators Marshall Brickman, Mickey Rose, and Doug McGrath, and Woody’s longtime manager-producers Jack Rollins and Charles Joffe, who won him independence as a filmmaker from the very start of his career (“before I had done anything to earn it,” in Woody’s words).
It’s a fascinating portrait on both a personal and professional level: seeing Allen revisit the neighborhood where he grew up in Brooklyn tells us a lot about his influences and lifelong interests. Learning that he remains as sardonic and unconvinced of his own movies’ merits as ever is also fascinating.
The DVD bonus material includes some interesting anecdotes that didn’t make the final cut, including a story of how he sold his first essay to The New Yorker, and a lighthearted q&a between Weide and Woody. (You can also watch it HERE.)
Just before the special aired, my pal Pete Hammond did a first-rate interview with filmmaker Weide for Deadline Hollywood that uncovered still more interesting background stories—like how Woody, who is mechanically inept, maintains his manual typewriter. Read it HERE:
Full disclosure: Bob Weide is an old friend, and I appear in this film as one of his “talking heads,” mostly providing connective tissue between topics as he covers the depth and breadth of Woody Allen’s career. I’m delighted to have played a small part in such a first-rate documentary.
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3 Comments
Michael Holland | February 15, 2012 7:51 PM
Hello, Leonard! Always great to see your emails pop up. This Woody news is GREAT news. I sadly missed the PBS Special, but now eagerly look forward to the DVD. Didn't Charles Champlin do a fairly well received Woody piece a few years back? Keep up the great work, as always. Best ...
Arnold Kunert | February 15, 2012 7:47 PM
Thanks for the reminder, Leonard. Now I know how to spend the gift card I got from my grandchildren at Christmas!
Carlos Sandoval | February 15, 2012 4:00 PM
Great documentary indeed! Woody Allen up close and personal. A fascinating piece of one New York genius and his world of obssessions!