American director, writer, actor, and comedian Woody Allen plans on directing only "one or two more" films, reported a popular media house. The auteur expressed that his thrill for making movies has gone because of the decline of the theatrical experience.
Allen expressed his wish during a conversation with Alec Baldwin, who is currently facing legal proceedings for the fatal shooting of the Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the Western Rust in October last year. The conversation between Allen and Baldwin was live-streamed on Instagram.
A popular media house further reported that while Allen plans to direct a movie, he hasn't revealed details about the project. The 86-year-old filmmaker said he will direct a film that will be shot in Paris in the late summer or early fall. His most recent film was Rifkin's Festival, which grossed just $2.3 million. The movie had a limited release in the United States earlier this year but made little impact in the marketplace.
The filmmaker’s career dwindled in recent years amid revived scrutiny around past allegations of sexual abuse. Book publisher Hachette also canceled the publication of his memoir, Apropos of Nothing, in 2020.
Even before the pandemic, Allen had said that the challenging environment for traditional theatrical releases was starting to weigh on him. "When I started, you'd do a film and it would go into a movie house and movie houses all over the country, and people would come by the hundreds to watch it in big groups on a big screen (sic)," he said.
"Now, you do a movie and you get a couple of weeks in a movie house, maybe six weeks, four weeks, whatever. And then it goes right to streaming or right to pay-per-view, and people love sitting home with their big screens and watching it on their television sets (sic)." As a result, he continued, "It's not as enjoyable to me."
Over five decades, from the 1960s through the 2010s, Allen averaged about one film a year, writing and directing more than 50 features. In his new day-to-day routine, the filmmaker said, "I don't have to be cold in the winter or hot in the summer or up at 5 o'clock in the morning, making decisions all day long (sic).”
He added, “I'm home and there's nothing I can do but exercise, practice the clarinet and write. I was home writing a lot. I wrote a couple of plays. I thought to myself, 'What if I didn't make films? This is a nice way to live.' And I thought, 'Well, maybe I'll make one or two more' (sic)."