Woody Allen FAQ
BrYan Westbrook
Archive-name: celebrities/woody-allen-faq
Frequently Asked Questions About Woody Allen
version 1.3
Compiled by BrYan Westbrook
(west...@hsnp.com)
(please e-mail me with corrections and/or additions)
Disclaimer: I have no insider information and no connection to Woody Allen,
Fine Line Features, or Miramax Films (though I'm certainly willing to
entertain job offers from any of them).
Disclaimer #2: This FAQ is a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery
of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.
Upcoming releases:
Woody's next movie will be titled Deconstructing Harry.
News Flash: Due to his apparent dissatisfaction with the promotional
attention his movies have received at Miramax, Woody Allen has now signed
with a new studio. Fine Line Features has reportedly paid $10.5 million for
the North American rights to Deconstructing Harry and Barbara Kopple's
documentary about the European tour of Allen's jazz band.
Q: Who is Woody Allen?
A: He was born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn, NY, December 1, 1935.
He dropped out (flunked out?) of both New York University and City College
of New York. He began his comedic career writing one-liners for gossip
columns at age 15, and during college was a joke writer for Bob Hope. In
1961 he finally began performing his own material in Greenwich Village
cafes, and soon moved up to nightclubs and talk shows. He also had a stint
as a writer/actor on Alan Funt's original Candid Camera. In 1965 he sold
his first screenplay, What's New, Pussycat? and also acted a supporting
role in the movie.
He has two ex-wives: Harlene Rosen (March 25, 1956 to 1962) and Louise
Lasser (February 2, 1966 to 1969) who co-starred in some of his early,
funny movies and was best known as tv's Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. He
dated Diane Keaton prior to writing Annie Hall, and their romance is the
basis for much of the script.
Woody has one biological son (Satchel Farrow), an adopted son (Moses
Farrow), and adopted daughter (Dylan Farrow) with ex-lover Mia Farrow. He
is currently living with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow
and her second ex-husband Andre Previn (her first ex-husband was Frank
Sinatra who threatened to beat up Woody over his affair with Soon-Yi).
Q: Where does Woody Allen live?
A: 930 5th Avenue, New York, NY
(As far as I know this information is public knowledge, so please no e-mail
about me jeopardizing Mr. Allen's security.)
Q: How can I get an autograph from Mr. Allen?
A: There is no guarantee that you will actually receive one, but you can
send your request to his New York office. Write to:
Norma Lee Clark
130 W. 57th St.
New York City, NY 10019
Q: Why does Woody Allen never attend the Academy Awards?
A: Mr. Allen is deeply private and not a "joiner." Every year the Academy
invites him to join, and every year he respectfully declines. He plays
clarinet every Monday night when not shooting a movie, so he always has a
prior commitment.
He has, however, received many nominations and received a few Academy
Awards.
Q: Why did Woody have an affair with his daughter?
A: First off, Soon-Yi Previn was not his daughter!!! She is the adopted
daughter of Mia Farrow (whom Woody never married) and conductor Andre
Previn. Mia has for a long time collected children as a hobby. Why Woody
had an affair with the adopted daughter of his girlfriend is a matter
between the three of them and has no direct relevence on the worth of his
artistic output.
Q: What Woody Allen Resources are there on the Internet?
A: There are two Usenet groups: alt.fan.woody-allen and alt.sex.woody-allen
To subscribe to the Woody Allen mailing list, send the following message to
lists...@westga.edu:
subscribe WOODY-L First name Last name
Woody Allen pages:
http://www.idt.unit.no/~torp/woody
http://www.media.uio.no/studentene/ragnhild.paalsrud/woody/woody.html
(mirrored at: http://www.vol.it/mirror/woody/woody.html)
http://omni.cc.purdue.edu/~royald/allen.htm
http://www.srv.net/~allenh/jordan/woodpap.html
http://www.axxis.com/~mfine/woody/woody.html
The Woody Allen Chat Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6663/woodchat.htm
(no appearances from Allen himself--just fans)
The Woody Allen Trivia Challenge:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6663/woodtriv.htm
For comprehensive information on all of his films, check the Internet Movie
Database: http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Allen%2C+Woody.
Additional information on some of his movies (from Husbands and Wives
through Everybody Says I Love You) can be found at the Miramax Café:
http://www.miramax.com/cafe.html
Microsoft(r) Cinemania(r) has a Woody Allen Biography:
http://www.us.msn.com/Cinemania/Artists/Biographies/WoodyAllen.htm
Information on Woody's European jazz tour (in English or Italian):
http://www.gpnet.it/woodyallen/
The Art of Humor III: Woody Allen interviewed by George Plimpton (QuickTime
audio 560K):
http://www.voyagerco.com/PR/fall95/allen.mov
Mighty Aphrodite "Identity & Anonymity"
Miramax's Counter Culture http://www.miramax.com/count_cult.html (This is
graphics-intensive and calls for Netscape 2.0 and Java!)
Mighty Aphrodite (a lighter version)
http://www.obs-us.com/obs/english/films/mx/aphro/top.htm
The Woody Allen WAV Archives: http://www.lgcy.com/users/r/rmoore/woody.htm
The script for Annie Hall is no longer online.
"The Whore of Mensa": http://www.ariz.com:80/mensa/humor/whore.html
The pianist for Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band has a homepage at
http://home.earthlink.net/~cynth/perf.html
Woody Allen Ate My Balls:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4165/woody.html
(Please note that the management of this FAQ does not reccomend the above
mentioned page, but merely lists it here for the sake of thoroughness.)
Return to the index
Q: What is Woody Allen's e-mail address?
A: Although he has "appeared" at least twice on America Online as a
celebrity guest (with someone else typing for him), Mr. Allen does not have
any known e-mail address, and is not known to even own a computer. It is
said that he still uses the manual typewriter on which he wrote his first
screenplay.
Q: Where can I find some Woody Allen .wav's?
A: You should first try the Woody Allen Wave Archives at
http://www.lgcy.com/users/r/rmoore/woody.htm, but if you are looking for
something that is not available there, all you need is a soundcard (the
files want do you any good anyway if you don't have one), a battery powered
tape recorder, a connector cord (headphone-type jack on both ends), and a
recording program. There are very simple programs to do this. A lot of
computers come with a program called Sound Recorder. If you don't have that
one (I'm assuming you're using an IBM (or clone) and not a MAC), go to
http://www.shareware.com and download Sonic Screwdriver. Once you've got
the program set up, record the sound you want to sample on a cassette tape,
plug one end of the cord into the headphone jack of the tape recorder and
the other into the "line in" jack of your soundcard (next to where the
speakers plug in). Just play the tape and hit the record button on the
program. If you are using Windows 95, you will need to click on that little
speaker icon in the bottom right of the screen and adjust the settings for
recording levels (I don't remember the exact settings at this time, but you
should be able to figure it out).
BTW, the appropriate newsgroup for posting such files is
alt.binaries.sounds.movies and not here (but please leave an announcement
here if you do post any Woody Allen wav's). The place to post pictures is
alt.binaries.pictures.celebrities.
Q: What movies has Woody Allen done?
A:
1965 What's New, Pussycat? actor, writer
1966 What's Up, Tiger Lily? director, host, producer,
voice-over actor, writer
1967 Casino Royale actor
1969 Don't Drink the Water writer
Take the Money and Run actor, director, writer
1971 Bananas actor, director, co-writer)
1972 Play It Again, Sam actor, writer
Everything You Always Wanted to
Know About Sex But Were Afraid actor, director, writer
to Ask
1973 Sleeper actor, director, composer,
co-writer
1975 Love and Death actor, director, writer
1976 The Front actor
1977 Annie Hall actor, director, co-writer
1978 Interiors director, writer
1979 Manhattan actor, director, co-writer
1980 Stardust Memories actor, director, writer
1982 A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy actor, director, writer
1983 Zelig actor, director, writer
1984 Broadway Danny Rose actor, director, writer
1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo director, writer
1986 Hannah and Her Sisters actor, director, writer
1987 Radio Days narrator, director, writer
September director, writer
King Lear actor
1988 Another Woman director, writer
1989 "Oedipus Wrecks" from New York actor, director, writer
Stories
Crimes and Misdemeanors actor, director, writer
1990 Alice director, writer
1991 Scenes from a Mall actor
1992 Shadows and Fog actor, director, writer
Husbands and Wives actor, director, writer
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery actor,director, writer
1994 Bullets Over Broadway director, co-writer
Don't Drink the Water actor, director, writer
1995 Mighty Aphrodite actor, director, writer
1996 Everyone Says I Love You actor,director, writer
Q: What is Woody Allen up to now?
A: His next movie will be titled Deconstructing Harry.
Q: How come I never hear much about Allen's upcoming movies?
A: He is very secretive about his works in progress and is so paranoid
about leaks that the actors and actresses are only allowed to see their own
pages of the script. (Although there had been alleged leaks from the set of
Everybody Says I Love You.)
Q: What Woody Allen scripts have been published?
A: Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan, Stardust Memories (published in a
single volume)
Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo (single volume)
Hannah and Her Sisters
Q: Did anybody ever notice how movie "x" imitates a Woody Allen movie?
A: Recognized Woody imitations:
Moon Over Parador -- Bananas
When Harry Met Sally -- Annie Hall
The Last Action Hero -- The Purple Rose of Cairo (which itself was an
homage to Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr.)
Q: Didn't some of Woody's earlier movies predict things about the future?
A: In Bananas: J. Edgar Hoover was depicted in drag, a couple decades
before he was "outed" as a transvestite by the press.
Q: Why does Woody Allen keep using the same actors and crew?
A: Woody's actors and crew are very loyal to him (they like working with
the best), and he to them. With the probable exception of Mia Farrow, the
only actress to ever publicly state she would not work with him again is
Meryl Streep.
Here is what Meryl Streep had to say about her experience:
"I don't think Woody Allen even remembers me. I went to see Manhattan and I
felt like I wasn't even in it. I was pleased with the film because I looked
pretty in it and I thought it was entertaining. But I only worked on the
film for three days and I didn't get to know Woody. Who gets to know Woody?
He's very much of a womanizer; very self-involved. On a certain level, the
film offends me because it's about all these people whose sole concern is
discussing their emotional states or their neuroses. It's sad because Woody
has the potential to be America's Chekhov. But instead, he's still caught
up in the jet-set crowd type of life, trivializing his talent."
She was also upset that she was only given the portions of the script that
contained her part (standard operating procedure on a security conscious
Woody Allen set).
Q: What is Allen's stand on letterboxing of videotapes?
Manhattan is generally considered to have been the first movie ever
released in letterbox format. Although Mr. Allen has not issued an official
statement on the issue, he did sue a European television station for
broadcasting a panned-and scanned version of Manhattan.
No other Woody Allen films were shot in the wide screen Panavision process.
Allen is also notorious for his movies having boom mikes in the "safe area"
above the top of the screen. This is a part of the frame that is not
visible in normal film presentation but appears during panned-and-scanned
video transfers. For an example, watch closely during the cabin scenes in
Annie Hall.
[Image] Q: What about The Sunshine Boys?
A: Rumours persist that he was involved in a 1995 made for television
remake of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys. The night this movie was
reportedly scheduled to air in the United States, the network showed a
Barbara Streisand concert. I have heard rumours that this film was made,
but went straight to video in Australia. According to a recent CBS press
release, The Sunshine Boys starring Allen and Peter Falk will air during
the November sweeps period.
According to Peter Wels: The re-make of The Sunshine Boys was released in
Australia through a video company called Rocvale (I assure you it does
exist). Also stars Peter Falk, Whoopi Goldberg and Sarah Jessica Parker
(also has a couple of other big names in it, but for the moment it alludes
me). Woody Allen's only involvement was acting (Neil Simon wrote the
teleplay). The film itself is pretty terrible... Allen gets off a couple of
good lines, but Falk is annoying and everyone else doesn't really get the
chance to do much...Couple of interesting self-ref lines including Allen
stating that "I don't know anything about making movies" and another one in
which he says "I don't go to New York all that often"
Q: What themes are repeated in Woody's movies?
A: Characters obsessed with death, the JFK assassination, and Ingmar
Bergman movies.
Also, the theme of illusion (manifested in things like magic, the
supernatural, movies, memories, mystical healers like Mr Yang in Alice)
versus "reality" is something he likes to use often.
He often talks directly to the camera.
Frequently plays movie directors.
Usually gives his characters short names because they're quicker to type.
Q: What movies are shown within Woody's movies?
A:
Annie Hall The Sorrow and the Pity
Happy Go Lucky, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Last
Crimes and Misdemeanors Gangster, Francis, Singing in the Rain, This Gun
for Hire
Hannah and Her Sisters Duck Soup
Manhattan Murder
Mystery Double Indemnity, The Lady from Shanghai
Play It Again Sam Casablanca
The Purple Rose of
Cairo the fictitious The Purple Rose of Cairo, Top Hat
Stardust Memories The Bicycle Thief
Radio Days Intermezzo
the fictitious The Changing Man (which has a
Zelig tongue-in-cheek entry of its own in James
Monaco's The Connoisseur's Guide to the Movies)
Q: What is What's New, Pussycat? about?
A: The producer, Charles Feldman, gave Woody the instruction to "write
something where we can all go to Paris and chase girls." Warren Beatty was
originally supposed to star in the film (the title was his standard
greeting to any attractive female) but dropped out before filming. The role
went to Peter O'Toole.
Q: Does anyone know the poem Michael Caine read to Barbara Hershey in the
bookshop (Hannah and Her Sisters) ?
A: The poem is by e. e. cummings, and, according to his practice, has no
formal title. It can be found by its first line: "somewhere i have never
travelled, gladly beyond"
Q: Who is David Greenglass?
A: " 'I love him like a brother - David Greenglass', Cliff answers, using a
phrase that was a favourite of New York liberals in the 1950s. Greenglass
was the brother of Ethel Rosenberg, who with her husband, Julius, was
executed in 1953 for passing U.S. atomic secrets to the Russians.
Greenglass, who supplied them with the information, turned prosecution
witness and got off with fifteen years in prison."
Q: Didn't Allen do some TV Work?
In addition to being an actor on Hidden Camera and That Was the Week That
Was, Woody wrote a pilot in 1962 entitled The Laughmakers. It was about the
professional lives of an improvisational group in New York City. Among it's
stars were Louise Sorel, Sandy Baron, Alan Alda, and Louise Lasser. The
group performed at "The Fruedian Slip" and hung out at "Cafe Nervosa." A
few of the gags turned up later in Woody's stand-up and films. The
Laughmakers was more sophisticated than anything on television at that time
so it's no surprise that the pilot wasn't picked up. Woody also starred in
two variety show style specials in the late sixties.
Q: What albums has Woody Allen recorded?
A: The only stand-up album available in the USA is:
[Image]Woody Allen: Standup Comic, Casablanca Records, 826 241-4 (cassette
only)
Available in Europe is:
Woody Allen: The Nightclub Years (1964-1968), EMI, CDP 7 93969 2, 0777
93968 2 5, UK: CDECC 31, LC 0542 (compact disk)
The New York Jazz Ensemble: The Bunk Project Music Master Jazz
0-1612-65098-2 (supposedly available only at Michael's Pub, so possibly out
of print)
Soundtracks:
Woody Allen Classics, Sony Masterworks, SK 53549.
Q: Where does Woody play clarinet?
A: Since Micahel's Pub (where he played for more than 25 years) closed in
early 1997, Woody started playing at the Cafe Carlyle, on Manhattan's Upper
East Side
Monday night - first set only (and only when his filming or travel schedule
allow)
Cover charge: $45 ($25 for the second set, sans Woody)
Seating capacity: 100
Name of band: The Eddie Davis Band
It is said that Woody began this practice to avoid attending the Academy
Awards which are always held on Monday nights. Reports from the newsgroup
say that Woody's playing is competent.
Allen is not paid for his appearance.
Q: What books has Woody Allen written?
A: Getting Even. 1971, ISBN: 0-030-32795-X
Side Effects
Without Feathers
These are available in a collected edition titled The Complete Prose of
Woody Allen, but the plays (which are technically not prose) are omitted.
Q: What plays has Woody Allen written?
A: Don't Drink the Water
Central Park West (no relation to the CBS soap opera of the same name)
Play It Again, Sam
Death (the loose basis for Shadows and Fog)
Death Knocks
Don't Drink the Water
The Floating Lightbulb
God
Q: What was the Woody Allen comic strip back in the late 70's? A: "Inside
Woody Allen" drawn by Stuart Hample. There was a collection published,
titled Non-Being and Somethingness: Selections from the Comic Strip "Inside
Woody Allen" (ISBN: 0394735900) with an introduction by Buckminster Fuller,
but the book is long out of print.
Q: What biographies of Woody Allen are there?
A: Altman, Mark. Woody Allen Encyclopedia. Pioneer Books(199), ISBN
1-55698-303-4
Benayoun, Robert. Woody Allen.
Benayoun, Robert. Woody Allen : Beyond Words.
Bendazzi, G. The Films of Woody Allen. Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri Spa
1984-1987, ISBN 1-85304-000-2
Björkman, Stig. Woody Allen on Woody Allen. Faber and Faber, 1994, ISBN 0
571 173349
Blake, Richard. Woody Allen, Profane and Sacred.
Brode, Douglas. Woody Allen : His Films and Career. ISBN: 0-8065-0959-7
Carroll, Tim. Woody and His Women. Little, Brown and Company, 1993. ISBN
0-316-90632-8
Cowie, Peter. (a book about Annie Hall)
Curry, Renee R. Perspectives on Woody Allen. G.K. Hall & Co. 1996.
de Navacelle, Thierry. Woody Allen on Location. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1987.
ISBN 0-283-99493-2
Fuchs, Wolfgang. Die Vielen Gesichter des Woody Allen. Taschen Verlag 1986,
ISBN 3-8228-0028-7
Girgus, Sam B. The Films of Woody Allen. Cambridge University Press 1993,
ISBN 0-521-38999-2
Groteke, Kristi and Marjorie Rosen. Mia & Woody: Love and Betrayal. New
York: New York Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1994. ISBN: 078670066
He Said/She Said Comics: The Woody Allen Story/The Mia Farrow Story.
Publisher: First Ammendment Comics
Hirsch, Foster. Love, Sex, Death, and the Meaning of Life: Woody Allen's
Comedy. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1981. ISBN: 0-07-029054-7
I Dream of Woody (Collects reports from a bunch of fans on actual dreams
they have had.)
Jacobs, Diane. ...But We Need The Eggs: The Magic Of Woody Allen. St.
Martin's Press 1982, ISBN 0-312-10998-9
Lax, Eric. On Being Funny: Woody Allen and Comedy.
Lax, Eric. Woody Allen: A Biography. Vintage Books, 1992. ISBN
0-679-73847-9
McCann, Graham. Woody Allen: New Yorker. ISBN: 0-7456-0890-6
McKnight, Gerald. Woody Allen: Joking Aside. ISBN: 0-491-02767-2
Murphy, Diana (ed). Woody Allen at Work: The Photographs of Brian Hamill.
Harry M. Abrams, Inc., Publishers: New York, 1995. ISBN 0-8109-1957-5
Palmer, Miles. Woody Allen an Illustrated Biography. Proteus 1980, ISBN
0-906071-39-9
Pogel, Nancy. Woody Allen.
Rosenblum, Ralph and Robert Karen. When the Shooting Stops...the Cutting
Begins.
Sinyard, Neil. The Films of Woody Allen.
[Image]Spignesi, Stephen J. The Woody Allen Companion. Universal Press
Syndicate Company 1992, ISBN 0-8362-8002-4
Sunshine, Linda. Illustrated Woody Allen Reader. Knopf, New York, 1993.
ISBN: 0-679-42072-X
Wernblad, Annette. Brooklyn Is Not Expanding: Woody Allen's Comic Universe.
New Jersey: Associated University Presses, 1992.
Yacowar, Maurice. Loser Take All. The Comic Art of Woody Allen. Roundhouse
Publishing, new expanded edition 1991. ISBN 1-85710-001-8
Q: Would you like to make $10 gazillion per hour sending obnoxious spam
like this to Usenet newsgroups?
A: No thank you. I've already invested all my savings in Arizona beach
property. You may think you're being smart and getting the jump on all the
suckers by posting this garbage on the net, but it's been done before
(about a hundred times a day actually), and all the suckers have already
been fleeced. I've been receiving this stupid pyramid schemes through U.S.
Snail for years. Sit down for a minute and figure out the size to which one
of these things would grow in a year. Now compare that figure with the
total population. Now allow for those of us who don't fall for it. Then
take into account all the people who add their name to the list without
paying or just start their name at the top of the list. Now do you see why
you haven't struck it rich yet? Now get out of this newsgroup and stay out,
or you may be receiving this entire FAQ everytime you spam here.
Thanks to the following people for their help with this FAQ (I started this
section late, so all you people who I'm leaving out please e-mail me so I
can add your names to the list):
an52...@anon.penet.fi
The Automanipulator (varn...@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu)
Florence Bavinck (flor...@obs-us.com)
Gary Bielo (gbi...@prairienet.org)
Red Buttons (redb...@aol.com)
blan...@aol.com
Edward Champion (edc...@sfsu.edu)
Egoman (ego...@pacificnet.net)
Bill Evanson (eve...@nsc-bridge.network.com)
Adam Frey (ad...@eden.apana.org.au)
Jonathan Galkin (jga...@empireentertainment.com)
GeekUSA823 (GeekU...@aol.com)
Carol Goodson (cgoo...@westga.edu)
John Gough (go...@austin.asc.slb.com)
Jaenet Guggenheim (Jae...@worldnet.att.net)
Andrew Hall (ah...@bizave.com)
Rob Hartill (ro...@imdb.com)
lisrael (address unknown)
Charles H. Joffe (co...@wavenet.com)
Benjamin W. King (bwk...@roanoke.edu)
Martin Klarlund (m...@datashopper.dk)
Mike Koopmann (mkoo...@chat.carleton.ca)
Valerie Liberge (Valerie...@efrei.fr)
Mark (MAR...@odyssee.net)
Maxx (ma...@Microsoft.com)
Mike (Mu...@aol.com)
Jarmo J Papinniemi (jpap...@cc.Helsinki.FI)
Gianfranco Pettenò (gp...@gpnet.it)
Mark Rowan (mro...@arches.uga.edu)
Alessandro Tommasi (tom...@cli.di.unipi)
Anders Herman Torp (to...@idt.unit.no)
Rebecca Wan (art2...@leonis.nus.sg)
Jeff Von Ward (sund...@sirius.com)
Peter Wels pwe...@webmedia.com.au
Jerry Zigmont zig...@mail2.nai.net
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