Ragesh Dipu
Woody Allen’s next movie after ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ gets more support from Spain. Glen Basner’s FilmNation comes on board the project to co-handle international sales in association with Spanish film and TV giant Mediapro, reports Variety. The veteran filmmaker is all set to start rolling the production of the film, which has a working title of ‘Rivkin’s Festival,’ on Wednesday in San Sebastian, Spain.
Christoph Waltz, Wallace Shawn, Elena Anaya, Gershon, and Sergi López play major roles in the movie. The filming will reportedly wrap up by August 20.
Gina Gershon of the New York-based media outlet Filmnation described the creative partnership with Allen as “a dream come true” at a press conference in San Sebastian on Tuesday. “It’s a beautiful script; a dream come true,” Gershon told the reporters, “These are crazy times; one has to analyze the situation and decide how you feel; I’m delighted to be part of this team.”
Allen and Mediapro CEO Jaume Roures were also present at the press meet along with the cast members Elena Anaya, Sergi Lopez, Gina Gershon, and Wally Shawn.
The actor-director said that he has no plans to retire. When asked about the controversies in the last couple of years, Allen said, “I have never thought of retiring,” Deadline quotes the local media, “I’ve always tried to focus on my work, no matter what happens in my family or with politics. I don’t think about social movements, for example. My cinema is about human relationships, about people. And I try to have humor in them. If I were to die, I would probably die on a film set, which may well happen.”
Allen teased bits and pieces about the plot of the upcoming flick. “‘Rifkin’s Festival’ is a romantic comedy about some folks from the United States who arrive at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and what happens has a comical resonance to what takes place here.” The director also added that the Gipuzkoa region of Spain plays a major role in the plot.
Earlier, San Sebastian gave a warm welcome to Allen who is going through a rough patch in his personal and professional fronts. While the virtual lockout by Hollywood continues still looms over the upcoming projects of the director, the support from the other side of the Atlantic came as a shot in the arm for Allen.
His last directorial outing ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ is in limbo after Amazon and other Hollywood banners declined to release it. Allen’s career took a turn for the worse when his adoptive daughter turned up with serious sexual molestation allegations in 2016.
Cover Image Courtesy: Medusa Film (To Rome with Love).
