Woody Allen: Interviews

Publisher Marketing: Woody Allen (b. 1935) is one of America's most idiosyncratic filmmakers, with an unparalleled output of nearly one film every year for over three decades. His movies are filled with rapid-fire one-liners, neurotic characters, anguished relationships, and old-time jazz music. Allen's vision of New York--whether in comedies or dramas--has shaped our perception of the city more than any other modern filmmaker. "On the screen," John Lahr wrote in the New Yorker in 1996, "Allen is a loser who makes much of his inadequacy; off-screen, he has created over the years the most wide-ranging oeuvre in American entertainment." "Woody Allen: Interviews" collects over twenty-five years of interviews with the director of "Manhattan," "Hannah and Her Sisters," "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Bullets Over Broadway," and "Annie Hall," for which he won an Oscar. The book's interviews reveal a serious director, often at odds with his onscreen persona as a lovable, slap-stick loser. Allen talks frankly about his rigorous work habits; his biggest artistic influences; the attention he devotes to acting, screenwriting, and directing; and how New York fuels his filmmaking. Along with discussing film techniques and styles, Allen opens up about his love of jazz, his Jewish heritage, and the scandal that arose when he left his longtime partner Mia Farrow for her adopted daughter. Including four interviews from European sources, three of which are now available in English for the first time, "Woody Allen: Interviews" is a treasure trove of conversations with one of America's most distinctive filmmakers. Robert E. Kapsis is professor of sociology at Queens College and is the author of "Hitchcock: The Making of a Reputation." His work has appeared in the "Village Voice," "Variety," "Journal of Popular Film and Video," and "Cineaste" and at the Museum of Modern Art. Kathie Coblentz is special collections cataloger at the New York Public Library. Kapsis and Coblentz coedited "Clint Eastwood: Interviews" (University Press of Mississippi). Contributor Bio:  Allen, Woody Jack Dann has written and edited over sixty books, including Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction; More Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction (Jewish Lights); and the international bestselling novel about Leonardo da Vinci, The Memory Cathedral. Already translated into ten languages, The Memory Cathedral won Australia's Aurealis Award and a selection won the coveted Nebula Award. He lives in Australia on a farm overlooking the sea and "commutes" back and forth to Los Angeles and New York. Visit his website at www.jackdann.com. Jack Dann is available to speak on the following topics: Jewish Science Fiction? How Can That Be, and What Can It So That Regular Jewish Fiction Can't?Exploring the Holocaust through the Lens of the FantasticI Am Jewish Enough! The Iconoclastic Mumblings of a Cultural JewMy Rabbi Is an Alien: How to Write and Read Jewish Science FictionContributor Bio:  Kapsis, Robert E Robert E. Kapsis, Great Neck, New York, is professor of sociology and film studies at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is author of "Hitchcock: The Making of a Reputation" and editor of several volumes in the Conversations with Filmmakers Series, including a forthcoming, updated edition of "Woody Allen: Interviews". Contributor Bio:  Coblentz, Kathie Kathie Coblentz is a rare materials cataloguer at the New York Public Library. She also co-edited (with Robert E. Kapsis) "Woody Allen: Interviews" (University Press of Mississippi).