Veteran Hollywood director Woody Allen has defended his record of working with women, saying in a recent interview that he has treated women as equals to men.
The renowned filmmaker told France24 that he doesn’t regret his comments from last year in which he said he should be the “poster boy” for the #MeToo movement.
“I’ve done everything that the #MeToo movement would love to achieve,” Allen said.
Allen was speaking at France’s Deauville American Film Festival, where his movie A Rainy Day in New York is set to premiere.
Rainy Day, which stars Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning, was dropped by Amazon Studios following Allen’s comments about the #MeToo movement and still lacks a U.S. distributor. The movie is being released in various European territories through other distributors.
The Oscar-winning director subsequently sued Amazon for breaking a four-movie deal with him.
Allen told France24 that Rainy Day could still be released in the U.S. But he added that ultimately, “it doesn’t matter.”
“If people enjoy the movie, I think it will eventually be released in the United States,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already finished another movie. Rainy Day for me is history. I made it a year ago.”
When asked about the #MeToo movement, Allen said:
“I feel that I’ve worked with hundreds of actresses. Not one of them has every complained about me. Not a single complaint. I’ve employed women in the top capacities, in every capacity. For years, we’ve always paid them exactly the equal of men. I’ve done everything that the #MeToo movement would love to achieve, with everybody.”
Allen’s adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, has accused her father of sexually molesting her when she was a toddler. The accusations, which Allen has denied, have led numerous actors to say they would not work with the filmmaker.
Earlier this week, Scarlett Johansson told The Hollywood Reporter that she believes in Allen’s innocence and would work with him again. The actress has starred in three Allen movies — Match Point, Scoop and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
“I love Woody,” she told the outlet. “I believe him, and I would work with him anytime.”
Allen said that he’s thankful European audiences continue to see his movies.
“There’s something about my product, the stuff that I do, that in some way unknown to me, resonates with European audiences, with French audiences,” he told France24. “I don’t question it. I love it. I consider myself completely lucky that it’s happened.”
Woody Allen said he recently finished shooting his newest movie in Spain. The movie, reportedly titled Rifkin’s Festival, stars Christoph Waltz, Gina Gershon, and Wallace Shawn.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.