Woody Allen is in Barcelona for a double visit. On the one hand, he has come to present his new film, Cop de sort, a thriller with touches of humor very much in the style of Match Point shot in French which opens on September 29 after successful premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Yesterday, the veteran New York filmmaker opened the 55th edition of the Voll-Damm Festival at the Tivoli theater together with the New Orleans Jazz Band and today he will play the clarinet again in the only two performances he will do in Spain. The director of films such as Annie Hall or Blue Jasmine, who will be 88 years old in December, is unable to produce or release his films in the United States after the outbreak of
He has already been to Barcelona a few times. What do you like most about the city?
It has everything. She is wonderful. The culture is fantastic and I love the food. It's the kind of city I like. With these buildings, churches... it's the kind of city I'm used to. That's why I live in New York and that's why I take pictures of cities that are fantastic to me. London, Rome, Barcelona are places I like to go.
15 years have passed since Vicky Cristina Barcelona premiered. Do you have any ideas to shoot another film here again?
I would be very happy to shoot here again under any circumstances. The truth is that I would like to live here for a while. I was at the Arts Hotel for three months, with a wonderful suite, and everything was very nice. I need a story, a good script for Barcelona, something that cannot be done in any other city.
So, won't Punch of Luck be his last film?
Is possible. I don't know, maybe. It all depends on whether something exciting comes out. Although 50 movies is enough, eh? If someone calls me from Barcelona and wants to finance a film here, then I would start thinking of an idea for the city.
Why did you want to film Coup de luck in France and in French?
I wanted to shoot it in French because I've always wanted to make a European film. These are the movies I liked when I was young. I love the French films of Truffaut, Godard, Laloux and the Italian films of Fellini, Antonioni. I adore Ingmar Bergman, and I wanted to be a filmmaker who was part of that group, but I couldn't because I was American. And I decided to make it in France because I came up with the idea of it being in Paris, with two American characters living there. But in the end it was complicated and I thought it was better if all the actors were French. It was very easy and doing it in French was no problem.
It's his 50th film. A good time to look back on his career. What is the most important thing you have learned from the film industry in all this time?
Well, if you're serious, never work on a project for money to make a profit. There will be many opportunities where you can do this and you should always try to work to get as good a film as possible, but not for the money you will make. I have been offered a lot of money to do Annie Hall 2 or Manhattan 2, but I would never do it. I always tried to make another good movie.
Do you regret anything?
I have a million things I regret and I won't tell him (laughs).
As luck would have it, he won great praise at the Venice Film Festival, but before that the Cannes Film Festival chose not to invite him. Do you feel like a victim of cancellation culture?
I've been very lucky, because I've been able to make movies and I've been able to do everything I wanted to do. I find the cancellation culture to be bullshit, in any case. Every year I've been able to make a film and I've worked with wonderful people. It's in my hands if I make a good film, because people will like it and go see it, but if I don't make it, they won't go to the cinema. In the end, it all comes down to the film, what you project on the screen. I have been very lucky because I have made 50 films and most of them have been liked by people.
What do you think about Hollywood writers and actors strikes?
I belong to all the unions that are on strike. I don't know much about the financial negotiations, but on the subject of artificial intelligence I am 100% in favor. I don't think anyone's face or voice should be used without their permission. I think it's terrible and needs to be reconfigured. When it comes to money, I've always been a union person. And I see that, as far as the studio people are concerned, they all have a lot of money and the actors don't. They have money, but there is a big difference. So I hope everything gets resolved and the unions are satisfied and the writers, actors and directors come to an agreement.
In an interview last year with this newspaper, he assured that he would like to write his first novel. Did you thread the needle?
No, but I might start soon. If I don't make more films, the only alternative is to write for the theater or make books.
He is missed as an actor. Don't you think about getting back in front of the camera?
It's harder as you get older, because there aren't enough characters. If he had an idea for a script, something that I could participate in, without it being forced, I would happily play the role.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would like them to forget me. With that, I would be more than satisfied. When I'm gone, I don't care how they remember me. It means nothing to me.
