I just ordered my copy of Woody Allen’s controversial memoir “Apropos of Nothing,” which happily found a home today at Arcade Publishing and was immediately released for public consumption [via The Associated Press]. If you remember, Hachette dropped the distribution rights to the memoir a few weeks ago after widespread backlash occurred, spearheaded by Mia and Ronan Farrow.
Arcade said in a statement: “The book is a candid and comprehensive personal account by Woody Allen of his life, ranging from his childhood in Brooklyn through his acclaimed career in film, theater, television, print and standup comedy, as well as exploring his relationships with family and friends.”
According to the AP, in the book, Allen accuses ex-wife Mia Farrow of an “Ahab-like quest” for revenge against him. Allen writes, “I never laid a finger on Dylan, never did anything to her that could be even misconstrued as abusing her; it was a total fabrication from start to finish.”
In the postscript, Allen compares himself to literary greats who too were shunned by their own countrymen and were forced to go into exile to continue their art in other countries, Allen says his downfall “plays into my poetic fantasies to be an artist whose work isn’t seen in his own country and is forced, because of injustice, to have his public abroad. Henry Miller comes to mind. D.H. Lawrence. James Joyce. I see myself standing amongst them defiantly. It’s about at that point my wife wakes me up and says, ‘You’re snoring.’”
Jeannette Seaver, the editor of Arcade Publishing, defended the release of Allen’s memoir in a scathing statement:
“In this strange time, when truth is too often dismissed as ‘fake news,’ we as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected artist, rather than bow to those determined to silence him.”
I can’t say I disagree.
For Schrader, AI solves the curious practical filmmaking problem he had. How about just creating Black people? No casting calls, no agents, no actors turning down the roles.