Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York Mothballed at Amazon

By Stephan Cho  |  August 31, 2018 | 11:45am
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Movies News Woody Allen
Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York Mothballed at Amazon

Woody Allen’s time might finally be up. While Amazon Studios has not yet issued an official statement on the status of controversial director’s A Rainy Day in New York, sources tell Page Six that the project might be shelved and never released. “No release date has ever been set for the film,” said a source from Amazon.

The film, which reportedly features a sexual relationship between a 15-year-old girl, played by Elle Fanning, and a much older man, played by Jude Law, might finally be too toxic to receive its contracted Amazon release.

This latest update follows an unnamed source telling the New York Post in January that Amazon would either bury or simply not release the film in response to growing backlash against men accused of sexual misconduct amplified by the #MeToo movement. In 1992, Allen’s adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was seven, which gained renewed attention when she wrote an open letter to Allen published in 2014 in the New York Times. Allen has repeatedly denied the claims.

Several stars of A Rainy Day in New York have publically distanced themselves from the director, with Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Hall and Griffin Newman promising to donate their salaries from the film to Time’s Up, RAINN and other charities benefiting survivors of sexual abuse. A source also told People that star Selena Gomez made a donation to Time’s Up that “far exceeded her salary for the film” after facing backlash for appearing in Allen’s film while appearing as a public figure representing the organization.

Former Allen collaborators, most recently Colin Firth and Greta Gerwig, have also spoken out against Allen, saying they would not work with the director again.

If A Rainy Day in New York is not released in 2018, as was initially scheduled, this would mark the first year that Allen did not release a new film since the accusations of sexual assault were levied against him in 1992. Allen’s films have never made much money, and have only been able to secure funding and major stars thanks to the prestige tied to working with the director. Amazon paid $25 million for A Rainy Day in New York, sight unseen.

At this point, however, being linked to Allen is far more of a burden than an asset.

Gerwig’s choice to work with Allen, for instance, came back to haunt her in the very moments following her Golden Globes win for Lady Bird, as one reporter asked her about it in the press room while she was walking out with the award.

Allen’s ongoing relationship with Amazon Studios, where he’s currently slated to release three more films, also drags the company back to former head Roy Price, who made a deal with the director before resigning in October 2017, following accusations of sexual harassment.

Men accused of sexual misconduct in Hollywood don’t quite feel the need to disappear from the public eye just yet; Louis C.K. held out for just nine months before attempting to squeeze his way back in. The only thing that seems to work is when the companies that finance and enable them, and the audiences that support them, finally cut them off from their supply.

Revisit our January essay on Allen’s baffling continued presence in Hollywood here.

 
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