At this stage in his career, Woody Allen seems to speak with very little concern for how his words will land in the court of public opinion.
Branded a pariah in the U.S. film industry and finding most of his recent work financed and released abroad, the director is giving off vibes of someone with nothing left to lose.
Allen opened up about his experience directing Donald Trump in his 1998 film “Celebrity,” telling Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast that he found the current president to be surprisingly competent in front of the camera.
He was a pleasure to work with and a very good actor. He was very polite, hit his mark, did everything correctly and had a real flair for show business. I could direct him now. If he would let me direct him now that he’s president, I think I could do wonders.
In “Celebrity,” Trump appears in a scene where he’s asked by a TV reporter about his next projects. With a tongue-in-cheek reply, he says he’s “working on buying St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Maybe doing a little rip-down job and putting up a very, very tall and beautiful building.”
Allen praised Trump’s “charismatic quality” and “professional, polite” demeanor on set, admitting he was stunned by his eventual move into politics. “This was a guy I used to see at Knicks games, who liked to play golf, judge beauty contests, do enjoyable things. Why anyone would want to suddenly have to deal with the issues of politics is beyond me.”
The filmmaker also clarified where he stands politically, saying he voted for Kamala in the 2024 election. “I disagree with many, almost all, not all, but almost all of his policies,” Allen noted, before adding that, in theory, he’d still love another chance to direct Trump: “I would like to direct him now as president and let me make the decisions. But that’s not gonna happen.”
Allen’s bluntness carried into other parts of the interview, where he dismissed cinema classics with casual indifference. He admitted he never cared for “Lawrence of Arabia,” called “Sunset Boulevard” “junk food,” shrugged off most of “The Godfather,” and when asked about the ‘Twilight’ franchise, drew a blank entirely: “I don’t know what that is.”
It was only just a few days ago that Allen, whose work often channels Russian literature, came under fire for virtually attending the Moscow Film Festival as guest of honor. During the discussion, he praised Russian cinema and even hinted at wanting to shoot a film in the country.
Whether praising Trump’s stage presence, shrugging off revered Hollywood classics, or casually floating the idea of making a film in Russia, Allen seems to be an artist completely and utterly detached from cultural discourse. At 87, he appears absolutely unconcerned with reputations — his own or anyone else’s. This is a filmmaker who, exiled from the film industry that once celebrated him, is giving off the impression that he has nothing left to lose.