For the first time in his 60-year career, Woody Allen has become a willing participant in a film documentary about his life.
After two decades of pleading, director Robert Weide finally convinced the ultra-private filmmaker to expose his life for a film biography, entitled: "American Masters - Woody Allen: A Documentary."
SOUNDBITE: Robert Weide, filmmaker, saying (English):
"I just made the case, you know, I made the case that A, it was time for a film like this to be made. And B that I was the guy to make it. And my feeling was that if he said anything but, 'no get lost,' in other words, if he left the door ajar a little bit I was going to push it open."
The film begins by exploring Allen's childhood and his first job in show business as a joke writer.
Then Allen's transition from comedian to writer-director is outlined, detailing how he averaged one film-per-year for more than four decades.
Allen only made one request of Weide, and that was to review the film beforehand -- a tough call for Allen who has a hard time watching himself on screen.
SOUNDBITE: Robert Weide, filmmaker, saying (English):
"It's difficult for him to watch old footage of himself and of course when he watched my documentary, his punishment was that he had to look at all this old footage again. So the only thing that he said was like, there was two jokes from his old standup act where he said, 'oh God, I never liked those jokes, I never thought they were funny, is there anything you can use instead."
Interviews with various actors including Scarlett Johansson, Diane Keaton and pal Martin Scorsese helped round out the film and also Weide's wildest boyhood dream.
SOUNDBITE: Robert Weide, filmmaker, saying (English):
"I just got an invitation from him to come to his editing room and see his current film in progress, which is just past rough cut stage. So, if I told high school Bobby Weide that that would happen he would have surely flipped out."
"Woody Allen: A Documentary" premieres on November 20 on the U.S. television network PBS.
Alicia Powell, Reuters.
