Woody Allen’s Next Film May Not Receive Any Release

Former collaborators of Woody Allen are lining up to condemn and disavow the famous film director, ahead of the planned release of his latest film, A Rainy Day In New York. Seemingly emboldened by the #MeToo movement and the current wave of sexual misconduct revelations in Hollywood, actors and former confidants of Allen’s have been turning against the director in reference to the accusations that he sexually assaulted his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow when she was 7 years old.

This negative press will cancel the release of A Rainy Day In New York altogether, according an unnamed source who spoke to the New York Post about the film, which was to be distributed by Amazon in 2018. According to that source: ”’Rainy Day’ will either not come out or [will] get dumped by Amazon without any p.r. or theatrical release. He’s having trouble casting his new film.”

The accusation against Allen was first made public in a 2014 New York Times editorial, which calls attention to one of the more troubling aspects of this story: People were fine continuing to work with the director then, but only feel compelled to disavow him now that the issue is getting more attention, thanks to #MeToo. That includes three of the stars of Rainy Day; Timothée Chalamet, Griffin Newman and Rebecca Hall, who can all be assumed to have been aware of the accusations when they agreed to make the film with Allen. Now, however, they’re all condemning him and falling upon their swords, which can’t help but feel a little bit like “damage control.” Chalamet, the breakout star of 2017’s Call Me By Your Name and Lady Bird, has said the following:

“I don’t want to profit from my work on the film, and to that end, I am going to donate my entire salary to three charities: Time’s Up, the LGBT Centre in New York, and Rainn [the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network].”

The issue of Woody Allen and the Dylan Farrow accusation is one that has divided Hollywood into factions in the last few years, and unsurprisingly, the evidence that one chooses to cite and believe tends to coincide with that person’s stance on the #MeToo movement. Alec Baldwin, for instance, has railed against Dylan Farrow, comparing her to the character of Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird, who lies under oath about her rape. Then there’s the issue of Moses Farrow, Dylan’s adopted brother, who is on Allen’s side as well, saying that Mia Farrow was an abusive, manipulative, violent mother—accusations that have received fairly little press or reaction, in comparison with Dylan’s. And of course there’s Allen himself, who has maintained that Dylan’s story was one somehow implanted in her mind by a vengeful ex, Mia Farrow.

Regardless, it’s clear that the galvanizing force of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have greatly reduced Hollywood’s interest in welcoming Allen back into its good graces, at least for now. Actor Colin Firth, who appeared in 2013’s Magic in the Moonlight, has been clear that he “wouldn’t work with [Allen] again.” Meanwhile, Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig, who appeared in Allen’s 2012 film To Rome With Love, has said the same: “If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film.”

The question is, if the #MeToo movement eventually fades from the spotlight, will actors simply go back to working with Allen again?