Ragesh Dipu
Woody Allen is set to direct his next movie with Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, Gina Gershon and Wallace Shawn in the lead. Sergi López, French actor Louis Garrel and Elena Anaya, who is known for ‘Wonder Woman,’ also join the cast. The movie, which has a working title of ‘WASP2019,’ will start rolling in San Sebastian in July, reports THR. The plot centers on a married couple who go to the San Sebastian Film Festival. The grandeur and vibrancy of the gala event lure the couple as they fall in love with the beauty and charm of Spanish culture. When the wife finds the love of her life in a French filmmaker, the husband falls head over heels for a mysterious Spanish woman.
Described as a romantic comedy by THR, the movie is produced by Spain’s Mediapro, which previously collaborated with Allen for ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ ‘You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger’ and ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ in association with Letty Aronson’s Gravier Productions. “It is a comedy-romance that resolves itself in a funny but romantic way,” Mediapro said in a statement. “At Mediapro we’ve been working with Woody Allen for 14 years. His films, like every project the group produces, have a unique personality. This latest movie has all the ingredients to be right up there along with what we’ve become accustomed to from a director of Woody Allen’s talent: an intelligent script and a first-rate international cast. In addition, we’re delighted to be able to shoot the movie in a city such as San Sebastian, which has such strong ties to cinema,” said Mediapro founding partner Jaume Roures.
Allen made it to the headlines when the maverick director locked horns with Amazon in a legal battle after the streaming giant stepped back from a four-film deal of 2017. The decision came after Allen finished the TV series ‘Crisis In Six Scenes’ and the movie ‘Wonder Wheel.’ The company reportedly shelved Allen’s ongoing project ‘A Rainy Day In New York’ with Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, and Jude Law in the lead roles. Reports suggest that Allen’s controversial comments on the burning #MeToo movement negatively impacted Amazon’s marketing strategy for his movies.
Meanwhile, distributors from Europe bought the movie and are lining it up for release by the end of 2019. Allen is under the scanner after the accusations by his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow. His collaborators like Chalamet, Rebecca Hall, Greta Gerwig and Colin Firth have moved away from the iconic filmmaker. On the other hand, actors like Javier Bardem openly criticized the public lynching of Allen in the name of an accusation of abuse.
“We have a 10-year relationship with Mr Allen and, like all projects we produce, we judge the creator by its work,” Mediapro made its stand clear on the controversy in a previous statement.
Cover Image Courtesy: ‘Isaac Davis in Manhattan.’
