Woody Allen still thinks he's the poster boy for #MeToo: 'Not one' actress 'has ever complained about me'
Woody Allen is aware he's essentially blackballed in Hollywood and he "couldn't care less."
Sexual assault allegations against the 83-year-old director resurfaced in the #MeToo era that essentially halted his decades-long career — at least in the U.S. Allen is in France to promote his latest film, Rainy Day in New York, which is set to open the Deauville Film Festival. During an interview with France24, Allen was asked about the fallout he's faced.
“I couldn't care less. I've never worked in Hollywood. I've always worked in New York and it doesn't matter to me for a second," he replied, per The Hollywood Reporter. "If tomorrow nobody would finance my films and nobody would finance my theater plays or nobody would publish my books, I'd still get up and write because that's what I do. So I will always work. What happens to it commercially is another matter.”
Allen still thinks he's the poster boy for the #MeToo movement.
“I've worked with hundreds of actresses [and] not one of them has ever complained about me, not a single complaint. I've worked with, employed women in the top capacity, in every capacity, for years and we've always paid them exactly the equal of men,” he said. “I've done everything that the #MeToo movement would love to achieve.”
Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Allen and Mia Farrow, would disagree. She has long maintained that Allen molested her when she was 7, something the filmmaker has denied. But when her story resurfaced in the wake of #MeToo, many actors and actresses disavowed the director. Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Hall, who star in Allen’s new film, donated their salaries to anti-abuse charities. They are not participating in press for Rainy Day in New York nor will they attend the France premiere. Allen said the actors decision “doesn't matter.”
“To me the movie is being released all over the world,” he said. “If people enjoy the movie, I think it will eventually be released in the U.S.” Either way, it isn't deterring Allen from continuing to work.
“I haven't thought of retiring. I don't have to make movies, if people didn't want to finance my movies I would be very happy working in the theater, or writing books, but I like to get up and write. I don't like to get up and do nothing,” he exclaimed.
According to Allen, he's still huge in Europe. “I consider myself so fortunate,” he said. “They always like my movies and they always were loyal … I don't question it.”
Also loyal to Allen is Scarlett Johansson, who has done three movies with him. She made waves this week for saying she still loves the filmmaker.
“I believe him, and I would work with him anytime,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I see Woody whenever I can, and I have had a lot of conversations with him about it. I have been very direct with him, and he’s very direct with me. He maintains his innocence, and I believe him.”
Dylan Farrow slammed Johansson for her remarks. “Scarlett has a long way to go in understanding the issue she claims to champion,” she tweeted.
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