Woody Allen hates all of his films.
The iconic director-and-actor has helmed 46 movies over his career, as well as starring in dozens of them. His distinct style, full of sarcasm and wit, has garnered him a mass following both within and outside the industry, but Woody doesn’t hold the same outlook as his fans.
“Yeah, well I hate them all. None are different, and all are… unsatisfying, when you’re finished,” he quipped when asked by Deadline which is his favourite feature. “Once I had a generally positive feeling, when I finished Match Point. I thought I was very lucky with this film. I was going to use an actress and she fell out a week before we shot and by sheer luck I stumbled onto Scarlett Johansson, who was luckily available. I was shooting in London. I needed a cloudy day, and that day it was cloudy. I needed it to be rainy for two hours - it would rain. I wanted a week of sun, we got it. I could do nothing wrong; I couldn’t screw up no matter how hard I tried. Everything fell into place.”
That seems to be the only time Woody has felt satisfied with one of his projects, and even then he doesn’t put it down to his talents as a director. He insists it was “wonderful good luck” and due to everyone else involved doing "beautifully” with their valuable contributions.
His latest film, Irrational Man, is being shown at Cannes today. It stars Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, who also appeared in Woody’s movie Magic in the Moonlight, and follows a philosophy professor searching for a will to live.
Despite Cannes mainly being a competition for features, Woody has no interest in taking part.
“I’ve never had a film in competition in my life. I just don’t feel you can say one film is better than another. Who’s to say some arbitrarily appointed group of judges can decide one is better'” he mused. “Is The Godfather better than Goodfellas, or whatever came out the same calendar year' You don’t make these films to compete. People make films for different reasons.”
