Woody Allen received a rapturous reception at the Venice film festival on Monday, despite some earlier consternation over the inclusion of his latest film in the lineup.
Allen, 87, was effectively blackballed by Hollywood over allegations that he sexually assaulted his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992. Allen, who was investigated by the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale–New Haven Hospital and New York Department of Social Services and cleared in both cases, has always maintained his innocence.
His 50th film, a French comedy-thriller called Coup de Chance (Stroke of Luck), premieres out of competition at the Lido on Monday night and comes during a period where Allen’s work has fallen out of the US film marketplace.
In 2018, his four-picture deal with Amazon was cancelled in part in reaction to jocular remarks by Allen that he could be the poster boy for the #MeToo movement. Allen later sued the studio for $68m (and the case was reported to have been settled privately in 2019).
But though a number of small protest banners over his inclusion (as well as that of Roman Polanski) appeared in Venice over the weekend, it was clear that Allen had a significant number of fans who wholeheartedly supported him.
During a press and industry screening of his film, there was applause and cheers at the sight of Allen’s name appearing in the opening credits, and when he entered the packed press conference room – with long queues snaking outside – he received a standing ovation from half of those present.
Hordes of people also chased the director for selfies each time he was spotted walking through the lobby of the festival hotel, before being ushered away quickly by his team.
Speaking of his life and career, Allen, a quadruple Oscar winner, said he had been fortunate to be “very, very lucky” his whole life. “I had two loving parents and good friends. I have a wonderful wife and marriage, two children. In a few months I’ll be 88 years old; I’ve never been in a hospital, I’ve never had anything terrible happen to me,” he told reporters.
“When I started making films, people chose to emphasis all the things I did well … they were very generous to me. I’ve had nothing but good fortune, and I hope it holds out. Of course, it’s early this afternoon,” he joked.
“If someone steps out of the shadows and says we’ll finance [the film] and obey all my terrible strictures – they can’t read the script or know who’s in it, just give me the money and go away – if some foolish person agrees to that, then I’d like to make a film in New York,” he said.
