At the age of 76, Woody Allen is still going strong – he’s a prolific filmaker that has given us a new movie every year since the dawn of the new millennium. In fact, you would have to go all the way back to 1981 to find a year where a new Woody Allen-directed film did not come out.
And he’s been on a European streak as of late. Last year’s time-travel-themed comedy Midnight in Paris garnered accolades from critics and moviegoers alike, both for Allen’s screenplay and directing as well as Owen Wilson’s performance. In the past few years, Allen has set his films in cities like London, Barcelona, and Paris. His latest film is set in Rome.
But despite recent rumors that his next project would take place in Copenhagen, it appears that Woody Allen is returning to America.
Speaking at the Italian primiere of his new film To Rome with Love, Allen said that Copenhagen isn’t happening. Instead, it’s San Francisco. From The Hollywood Reporter:
“I don’t know where that came from, but I assure you: I have not spoken to anyone in Copenhagen, I don’t know anyone in Copenhagen, and I have no plans to make a film in Copenhagen,” he noted. Instead, he said his next project will be set in San Francisco, with sections shot in his traditional New York stomping grounds. He did not rule out returning to Europe after that.
Of course, a large proportion of his classic films are set in the Big Apple. The European trend is a more recent thing.
As far as his new film To Rome with Love goes, Friday’s Italian premiere apparently drew mixed responses from critics. Some argued that the film gave a “superficial” portrayal of the city, to which Allen responded that the film is his own interpretation of the city, and that he doesn’t pretend to know the inner-workings of the city’s politics.
To Rome with Love stars Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, and even Woody himself. It opens in the U.S. on June 22nd.