In a chat with Anne Thompson, Luca Guadagnino spoke about “The Staggering Girl,” which just premiered at Cannes and broke his croissette cherry: “I’m a Venice man,” he tells Thompson. “I am a nouvelle vague person, this is my first time. I felt at home. Maybe this is the beginning of a new phase for me.”
The movie starts out with the familiar title font from Woody Allen movies. “I did it already in the past with the short film ‘Working Stories,’ said Guadagnino. “I was asking Ariel Schulman, a director who is also a great visual artist, to draw by hand Woody Allen titles.”
Guadagnino disapproves of Allen’s dismissal from Hollywood courtesy of #MeToo allegations brought forth again, more than 20 years after Allen was found not guilty in committing them at the court of law “of all the perverted and primordial enjoyment of a kind of ‘Scarlet Letter’ trial of a man,” he said. “I still am a believer in state of rights; Mr. Allen went through many investigations 20 years ago and was cleared. The Woody Allen legacy — those movies are there, and they are fantastic. Anyone who denies that “Another Woman” is masterpiece is stupid!”
I am told that Allen’s long-delayed-but-finally-being-released-in-Europe “Rainy Day in New York” will be premiering in Guadagnino’s home front at the Venice Film Festival this coming September.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.