Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008)

[Antoine Doinel]

Shouldn't Woody be pissed they dumped (the excellent) Cassandra's Dream? He probably just doesn't care anymore.

He's probably happy someone is interested in distributing his films at all. Unfortunately, Woody Allen's films are generally unprofitable and he stopped being Oscar bait years ago.

[Andrew_VB]

Shouldn't Woody be pissed they dumped (the excellent) Cassandra's Dream? He probably just doesn't care anymore.

He's probably happy someone is interested in distributing his films at all. Unfortunately, Woody Allen's films are generally unprofitable and he stopped being Oscar bait years ago.

by years ago do you mean 2006 when match point was nominated for an oscar?

[Barmy]

Cassandra will be lucky to make $2 million domestically. I saw it in Manhattan a few days after it opened, in a nearly empty theater. I would hardly call it "dumped". There is little demand for his cinema. Match Point is the exception that proves the rule. =P~

[Antoine Doinel]

Shouldn't Woody be pissed they dumped (the excellent) Cassandra's Dream? He probably just doesn't care anymore.

He's probably happy someone is interested in distributing his films at all. Unfortunately, Woody Allen's films are generally unprofitable and he stopped being Oscar bait years ago.

by years ago do you mean 2006 when match point was nominated for an oscar?

Right. And he didn't win, and the next previous nomination was eight years prior. No one is distributing Allen films anymore in the hopes of garnering nominations. Hell, the Weinsteins love nothing more than to snag as many nominations as they can and their screen count and generally uninspired promotion of Cassandra's Dream only shows that even they don't see the point.

[Jeff]

I would hardly call it "dumped". There is little demand for his cinema. Match Point is the exception that proves the rule.

You may be right about the current demand for Woody Allen films, but Cassandra's Dream was most certainly "dumped" by the Weinsteins. It was originally scheduled to be released in 300+ cinemas on December 21. The release date was then changed to January 18. Then the theater count was dropped to 200, then 120. It finally opened on 107 arthouse screens with little fanfare or advertising support. It never had a chance.

[Antoine Doinel]

Rumorhas it the film has a lesbian scene between Johansson and Cruz. So I guess this guarantees the Weinsteins won't dump the film.

[rohmerin]

Does anyone know when will Cassandra's Dream will be released on DVD in R1? I want to import it because it's the only W. Allen's film I've not seen. Quelle dommage!

[Jeff]

VCB opens August 29 according to The New York Post.

[AWA]

I would hardly call it "dumped". There is little demand for his cinema. Match Point is the exception that proves the rule.

You may be right about the current demand for Woody Allen films, but Cassandra's Dream was most certainly "dumped" by the Weinsteins. It was originally scheduled to be released in 300+ cinemas on December 21. The release date was then changed to January 18. Then the theater count was dropped to 200, then 120. It finally opened on 107 arthouse screens with little fanfare or advertising support. It never had a chance.

Actually, he's not right at all about current Woody films. Match Point was his biggest financial success ever and Scoop, which I think is amongst his worst, even made nearly $50 million worldwide, which is a significant increase from the usual $20 - $30 million worldwide fare he usually makes. To top that off, Scoop was made for just over $5 million, which makes it an extremely profitable film.

So up until Cassandra's Dream, the exact opposite could be said about Woody's financial success - he was enjoying a boom. As you correctly pointed out, Cassandra's Dream was "dumped" with zero promotion, even when it was put into limited release. Of course - rumor has it that the Weinsteins only agreed to pick up Cassandra's Dream so that they could be first in line to get a chance at this film, VCB, which, considering the sexual content and casting, is going to undoubtedly be a success with potential to be enormously so. So the Weinsteins took a big loss on Cassandra's Dream in hopes that they will be making that loss back and then some off this film.

It is worth noting, of course, that the sexual content of the film was "leaked" only after the Weinsteins signed on as distributor... you need not be a detective to figure out the hows and whys of that happening.

VCB opens August 29 according to The New York Post.

I would bet a lot of money that is a preliminary date - if it debuts at Cannes to rave reviews, it will get pushed back into "Oscar season" for sure.

[Dylan]

Match Point was his biggest financial success ever

Sadly, it's actually far from it. While its audience was easily 20 times the size of a typical late Allen picture, Match Point wasn't really a "hit," and domestically it only came in with $23 million. If you inflate ticket prices, domestically in 1977 Annie Hall made $113 million, in 1979 Manhattan made $104 million, in 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters made $71 million and so on.

I'm hoping Vicky Cristina will be his greatest success (popularity and financial) since Annie Hall, and with everything that's been reported now combined with Javier Bardem's Oscar win and newfound popularity, the likelihood of that has bountifully increased.

rumor has it that the Weinsteins only agreed to pick up Cassandra's Dream so that they could be first in line to get a chance at this film, VCB,

That might be true, but it still seems ludicrous that they just dumped it. It has A-list actors and certainly could've attracted a wide audience had it been given any chance at all.

[AWA]

Match Point was his biggest financial success ever

Sadly, it's actually far from it. While its audience was easily 20 times the size of a typical late Allen picture, Match Point wasn't really a "hit," and domestically it only came in with $23 million. If you inflate ticket prices, domestically in 1977 Annie Hall made $113 million, in 1979 Manhattan made $104 million, in 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters made $71 million and so on.

Your $23 million figure is for US only. Match Point made at least $86 million in terms of global returns according to BoxOffceMojo and that figure is actually higher apparently according to a variety of other sources, including Woody's biographer, Eric Lax.

So, even if you count inflation (which, obviously, most don't bother to), Match Point is still amongst his absolute most successful films. No matter how you cut it, that film was a big success. Oddly enough, I also TA in a University film production class for first year students... I'm 27, but most of these kids are 17 or 18 years old... Woody Allen to them is the director of Match Point.

And to even make $23 million in the States when the norm for Woody films in the past 5 years previous to that release were ranging from $5 million - $10 million in US returns is quite remarkable, to have suddenly convinced the American public to get interested in a Woody film again like that in just one year's time.

Scoop, however, did return him to more familiar US box office territory, doing a healthy $10 million in the US, and then doing quite well overseas, pulling $29 million.

I'm hoping Vicky Cristina will be his greatest success (popularity and financial) since Annie Hall, and with everything that's been reported now combined with Javier Bardem's Oscar win and newfound popularity, the likelihood of that has bountifully increased.

He's also preparing to film a new comedy in New York City (his first since 2004's Melinda & Melinda to be filmed in Manhattan) that is set to star Larry David (!), Evan Rachel Wood, Emma Thompson and Woody himself. This also looks promising as he's finally casting a film with characters more his age and might be back to dealing with something a little more immediate to himself and his age (the last serious time being either Deconstructing Harry or Celebrity).

After that, he's got financing set up for 3 more films at $24 million each, which is a very large budget for a Woody film. The NYC-Larry David project is $15 million, which is about normal for a Woody film... so it will be interesting to see what Woody does now that he has the budget to do re-shoots once again (if he chooses, and, likely, if given the financial opportunity to do so, he will) and afford all the music he so desires. The next 5 years could prove to be a complete Woody revival as a result of having two of the most important aspects back in his career - stable security and an abundance of assured budgets to work off of.

rumor has it that the Weinsteins only agreed to pick up Cassandra's Dream so that they could be first in line to get a chance at this film, VCB,

That might be true, but it still seems ludicrous that they just dumped it. It has A-list actors and certainly could've attracted a wide audience had it been given any chance at all.[/quote]
I saw it in Toronto and it was good, but I don't think i could've been anything close to a Match Point sized success. Considering Harvey visited Woody on the set of VCB before they signed on to distribute CD, I think that they were after VCB from the get go. Woody could care less what happens to that film (and has said as much - of course, he says that about all his films, given enough time), especially when he's worked his way back into financial security, which is likely much more enticing for him. I''m not defending the Weinsteins' decision, of course - obviously, dumping it like they did is only going to make VCB an uphill battle as many theatres are going to look at the numbers and think "Woody's back to being a financial risk again, pass" and that will be that. But of course... they are the Weinsteins so logic need not apply to any given decision.

[Fielding]

Match Point was indeed a hit, Dylan. That $23 million it made came from a mere 500 screens, an excellent performance. And then it cleaned up on DVD. As AWA pointed out, it attracted a youthful crowd that had never seen a Woody film before; that same audience should turn out for VCB, too.

By the way, taking inflation into account is a fun exercise, but pretty meaningless. Back in 1977 there were fewer entertainment options, film production was half what it is today, and movies stayed in theatres for much, much longer.

I agree that VCB should do well. Early whispers say that it's very, very good (better than Match Point), that Penelope Cruz walks away with the film, and that it is indeed very sexy.

[rohmerin]

First pictures from the film at elpais.com. Penélope Cruz and Bardem are gorgeous in this film.

[Antoine Doinel]

Spanish language row over Allen film

[AWA]

Looks as though this will not get a premiere at Cannes, but rather in the "fall" - meaning Sans Sebastian? It will also likely mean the late August release date is going to be changed.

[Antoine Doinel]

I could see the Weinstein's premiering the film at something more mainstream media friendly like the Toronto International Film Festival. Given the star power and sultry plot, it doesn't seem that unlikely. Does September count as "fall"?

[domino harvey]

Maybe they're moving it closer to the end of the year for Oscar visibility?

[Antoine Doinel]

Contrary to earlier reports, this will be debuting at Cannes.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Woody downplays the sex scene in the film.

[domino harvey]

Is there anything more trite than a snide article about Woody Allen's perceived lack of appeal?

[Fielding]

So trite and so nonsensical, since Woody has just secured funding for his next 3 films after the one he's currently shooting. And he's getting bigger budgets for them, too! Surely even the most moronic "journalist" must know by now how popular Woody is in Europe.

[AWA]

Cannes website features a new still from the film and more info, including the following plot outline:

Two young American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) come to Barcelona for a summer holiday. Vicky is sensible and engaged to be married; Cristina is emotionally and sexually adventurous. In Barcelona, they're drawn into a series of unconventional romantic entanglements with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a charismatic painter, who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz). Set against the luscious Mediterranean sensuality of Barcelona, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA is Woody Allen's funny and open-minded celebration of love in all its configurations.

[Barmy]

alleged trailer

[domino harvey]

That looks like one of those YouTube videos where a teenage girl takes clips from a movie and runs a song over it to make a music video.

[Barmy]

Teenager? If the maker of that trailer is older than 8, I'd be shocked.