Following the arrival of his forthcoming Irrational Man film, ever-busy 79-year-old director Woody Allen has plenty of other projects in the works. Among them is a six-part television series for Amazon Instant Video. In a new interview from Cannes, however, Allen says he deeply regrets agreeing to do it.
Speaking with Deadline, Allen said, "I have regretted every second since I said OK. It's been so hard for me. I had the cocky confidence, well, I'll do it like I do a movie…it'll be a movie in six parts. Turns out, it's not. For me, it has been very, very difficult. I've been struggling and struggling and struggling."
He added that he wasn't even sure what Amazon was, telling the interviewer he had never heard of a "streaming service" before. "I don't even know what a streaming service is; that's the interesting thing. When you said streaming service, it was the first time I've heard that term connected with the Amazon thing. I never knew what Amazon was. I've never seen any of those series, even on cable. I've never seen The Sopranos, or Mad Men. I'm out every night and when I come home, I watch the end of the baseball or basketball game, and there's Charlie Rose and I go to sleep.
"Amazon kept coming to me and saying, please do this, whatever you want. I kept saying I have no ideas for it, that I never watch television. I don't know the first thing about it. Well, this went on for a year and a half, and they kept making a better deal and a better deal. Finally they said look, we'll do anything that you want, just give us six half hours. They can be black and white, they can take place in Paris, in New York and California, they can be about a family, they can be comedy, you can be in them, they can be tragic. We don't have to know anything, just come in with six half hours. And they offered a lot of money and everybody around me was pressuring me, go ahead and do it, what do you have to lose?"
"Oh, it's amazing how you can regret," Allen continued. "I haven't had a pleasurable moment since I undertook it."
Of course, Allen has a long history of being self-effacing. In the same, lengthy Deadline interview he mentions that he hates all of his past films, and adds that there were great jokes cut from Manhattan and Bananas because he was too insecure about how they'd play. Further, he mentioned that since he doesn't get any studio notes, he only has himself to blame for his work.
Read the full Deadline interview here, and watch the trailer for Irrational Man below.
Speaking with Deadline, Allen said, "I have regretted every second since I said OK. It's been so hard for me. I had the cocky confidence, well, I'll do it like I do a movie…it'll be a movie in six parts. Turns out, it's not. For me, it has been very, very difficult. I've been struggling and struggling and struggling."
He added that he wasn't even sure what Amazon was, telling the interviewer he had never heard of a "streaming service" before. "I don't even know what a streaming service is; that's the interesting thing. When you said streaming service, it was the first time I've heard that term connected with the Amazon thing. I never knew what Amazon was. I've never seen any of those series, even on cable. I've never seen The Sopranos, or Mad Men. I'm out every night and when I come home, I watch the end of the baseball or basketball game, and there's Charlie Rose and I go to sleep.
"Amazon kept coming to me and saying, please do this, whatever you want. I kept saying I have no ideas for it, that I never watch television. I don't know the first thing about it. Well, this went on for a year and a half, and they kept making a better deal and a better deal. Finally they said look, we'll do anything that you want, just give us six half hours. They can be black and white, they can take place in Paris, in New York and California, they can be about a family, they can be comedy, you can be in them, they can be tragic. We don't have to know anything, just come in with six half hours. And they offered a lot of money and everybody around me was pressuring me, go ahead and do it, what do you have to lose?"
"Oh, it's amazing how you can regret," Allen continued. "I haven't had a pleasurable moment since I undertook it."
Of course, Allen has a long history of being self-effacing. In the same, lengthy Deadline interview he mentions that he hates all of his past films, and adds that there were great jokes cut from Manhattan and Bananas because he was too insecure about how they'd play. Further, he mentioned that since he doesn't get any studio notes, he only has himself to blame for his work.
Read the full Deadline interview here, and watch the trailer for Irrational Man below.