A new Woody Allen profile by french newspaper Libération has several interesting anecdotes about the making of Woody Allen's latest film, “Coup de Chance.”
The film was released in France yesterday. Allen’s 50th film cost around 10 million euros and took advantage of the tax rebate on foreign productions, the actors were paid 2000 euros a day.
Apparently, several actors that Allen wanted for the cast declined to star in the film. The names dropped by Libération include Gilles Lellouche and Vincent Cassel, both said no due to "reputation risk." Léa Seydoux (who was supposed to play the lead role that eventually went to Lou de Laâge) and Isabelle Huppert couldn't fit the shoot on their schedule.
I have no doubt that Huppert, who has mentioned in the past wanting to work with Allen, couldn’t star in the film due to scheduling conflicts. Last weekend, she even attended Allen’s jazz concert in Paris and met up with him backstage afterwards.
The article says that Allen and Seydoux (who Allen qualifies as "the quintessence of beauty") have a habit of dining together when Allen is in Paris so probably no bad blood between them. So, it’s doubtful she had a fear for her reputation by not appearing in Allen’s film.
However, the most interesting tidbit in this Libération piece is that, according to anonymous members of the cast, the french translation of the script read like a "cheesy TV movie" and therefore the actors actually met "in secret" to rewrite their lines. Allen, not knowing French, was not aware of the changes.
I haven't seen the film, so I can’t comment on the dialogue, but that is indeed one of the main criticisms of French critics when it comes to this film. Regardless, actors are not screenwriters and to have them change lines, in secret, behind Allen’s back, is a tad too foul for my tastes.
The reviews out of Venice for “Coup de Chance” were impressive, especially for latter-day Allen, it currently has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 20 reviews).
“Coup de Chance” still has no U.S. distributor. It will most likely be released on VOD in France before it ever sees the light of day in the States.