UPDATE: The film will be produced by 3SIX9. The budget is estimated at around $14M and it will be “largely English-language,” featuring a “high-profile cast” that is still coming together (Deadline).
EARLIER: Well, it’s official: Woody Allen, who just turned 90, is shooting a new film in the spring. The working title is WASP 2026, an acronym for Woody Allen Spring Project.
The filmmaker released a statement:
I will be very happy to return to Spain. This will be my third time filming there and my first opportunity to make a film in Madrid, a city that I have always loved.
Allen will begin filming in March with a budget of over $11M — with $4M financed by the City of Madrid. The plan is six months of shooting, but I doubt it’ll be that long — has Allen ever shot for that many months? Regardless, the deal is that, given the city’s financing on the project, Allen is obligated to include “Madrid” in the title of the film.
More intriguingly, the film will also be backed 3Six9 Studios, and that’s where it really gets interesting. It's a Saudi company, and its CEO is Sheik Mohammed Youssef El Khereiji, a billionaire from the Gulf state.
In other interesting news, the Canary Islands and Basque Country offered funding for the filming of a new film in their region. So Allen theoretically has more locations where he could receive funding.
Plot details and casting have yet to be revealed for this film. It’ll be interesting to see if Allen supporters — and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” stars — Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz will appear in this project; there’s certainly a decent chance that could happen.
Allen’s last film, 2023’s “Coup de Chance,” which also happened to be the 50th film he has directed, premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It was shot entirely in French and turned out to be one of the better efforts he’s given us over the past 10 years. It was also well-received by critics, currently holding an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes — making it his best-reviewed film since 2013’s Blue Jasmine.
Allen has insisted he still has one more great film left in him. Not too long ago, he even claimed to have “one of the best ideas” he’s ever had, and only needed proper funding to make it happen.