This past September, Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance” premiered at the Venice Film Festival to positive reviews.
The film was said to be a return to form for Allen. It privately screened this past Spring in New York City. Obviously, given that only a select number of press were invited, all vehement defenders of Allen’s, most of the reactions were very positive.
Allen’s 50th film, shot with French actors, does sound enticing enough. It’s a dark drama that keeps being compared to his 2005 “Match Point.”
With that said, it’s struggled to find American distribution. Nobody wanted to touch it. However, I’m hearing that a brave U.S. distributor is close to a deal on the film, with a 2024 release almost certainly happening. Details should be forthcoming …
Why has there been such difficulty in “Coup de Chance,” and really, all of Allen’s post-MeToo films, getting seen in the U.S? After all, Allen’s films were mainstays in American theaters, for close to 50 years. That is until 2017 …
In October of 2017, just a few weeks before “Wonder Wheel” was supposed to world premiere at the New York Film Festival, the #MeToo hashtag went viral which led to old allegations against Allen coming back into the spotlight. By the time “Wonder Wheel” premiered, the reviews turned out to be, no coincidence, the worst of Allen’s career (31% on Rotten Tomatoes) —“Wonder Wheel” was not a bad movie, it’s nowhere near a nadir.
Ever since then, Allen has had great difficulty in finding U.S. distribution for his films (“Rainy Day in New York” and “Rifkin’s Festival”), but the good news is that the tide is slightly turning. “Coup de Chance,” will be released Stateside very soon.