Woody Allen spent decades delivering one movie a year, quality control be damned, until very recently when he finally took some time off. The break wasn't self-imposed, however, but instead due to the dissolution of his deal with Amazon. Now, amidst a legal dispute with the filmmaker, the studio is defending its decision.
Allen is suing Amazon for a reported $68 million USD, saying the company reneged on a four-picture deal when decades-old allegations of sexual abuse from his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow resurfaced.
According to legal documents from the case [via the Guardian], Amazon said it was justified in severing ties with Allen over his comments about the #MeToo movement, in which the director said he hoped the Harvey Weinstein case wouldn't lead to "a witch hunt atmosphere" (among many other things).
Of the Weinstein comments, Amazon shared the following statement:
The [Ronan Farrow] article became the catalyst for a broad public reckoning over the persistence of sexual harassment in entertainment and other industries. Despite immediate consensus on the importance of acknowledging and addressing this issue, Allen made a series of public comments suggesting that he failed to grasp the gravity of the issues or the implications for his own career.
Regarding the resurfaced Dylan Farrow accusations, Amazon said that Allen's comments (which including the line "I should be the poster boy of the #MeToo movement) damaged the company's ability to promote his film Wonder Wheel:
Allen's statements came out just as Amazon and Allen were preparing to promote Allen's film Wonder Wheel, effectively sabotaging those efforts … Understood in the broader context, Allen's actions and their cascading consequences ensured that Amazon could never possibly receive the benefit of its four-picture agreement.
Summing everything up, Amazon said it cancelled its contract with Allen due to "renewed allegations against Mr Allen, his own controversial comments and the increasing refusal of top talent to work with or be associated with him in any way."
Allen has not yet commented on the statements.
Allen is suing Amazon for a reported $68 million USD, saying the company reneged on a four-picture deal when decades-old allegations of sexual abuse from his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow resurfaced.
According to legal documents from the case [via the Guardian], Amazon said it was justified in severing ties with Allen over his comments about the #MeToo movement, in which the director said he hoped the Harvey Weinstein case wouldn't lead to "a witch hunt atmosphere" (among many other things).
Of the Weinstein comments, Amazon shared the following statement:
The [Ronan Farrow] article became the catalyst for a broad public reckoning over the persistence of sexual harassment in entertainment and other industries. Despite immediate consensus on the importance of acknowledging and addressing this issue, Allen made a series of public comments suggesting that he failed to grasp the gravity of the issues or the implications for his own career.
Regarding the resurfaced Dylan Farrow accusations, Amazon said that Allen's comments (which including the line "I should be the poster boy of the #MeToo movement) damaged the company's ability to promote his film Wonder Wheel:
Allen's statements came out just as Amazon and Allen were preparing to promote Allen's film Wonder Wheel, effectively sabotaging those efforts … Understood in the broader context, Allen's actions and their cascading consequences ensured that Amazon could never possibly receive the benefit of its four-picture agreement.
Summing everything up, Amazon said it cancelled its contract with Allen due to "renewed allegations against Mr Allen, his own controversial comments and the increasing refusal of top talent to work with or be associated with him in any way."
Allen has not yet commented on the statements.