On occasion, bad things happen to bad people and the world is somewhat at peace. Today, Page Six reported that Woody Allen’s latest film, A Rainy Day In New York, has been shelved indefinitely by Amazon.
Produced on a $25 million budget, the filmed starred Selena Gomez, Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, and Jude Law. Previously, the film had come under some fire for a scene in which an older man flirted with a fifteen-year-old girl, proving that Allen’s films all have an undercurrent of creepiness to them that reflect the allegations brought against him.
Last year, Dylan Farrow brought allegations of child abuse by Allen, her adoptive father, to the forefront of discussion again. As a result, both Chalamet and Hall both donated their salaries to charities such as #TimesUp, and Hall spoke about her regret at having worked with Allen. Gomez, on the other hand, has expressed no such regret about working with Allen, and her mother even spoke about how Gomez came to the decision to work with him, saying in an Instagram comment:
Sorry, no one can make Selena do anything she doesn’t want to. I had a long talk with her about not working with him and it didn’t click. Her team are amazing people. There is no fall person here. No one controls her. She makes all her own decisions. No matter how hard you try to advise, it falls on deaf ears.
2018 marks the first year in which Allen has not gone into production on a new film. Many expected Rainy Day to have a wide release in 2019, but sources have said that Amazon has shelved the production and will either not release it or drop it on their streaming service with no publicity or fanfare. Allen still has a deal with Amazon, but so far no new productions have been announced.
Honestly? This film will not be missed. Allen’s alleged abuse, while never proven in court, is well documented; his work is marked by a distinct sexualization of younger women and blatant misogyny. The fact Hollywood has allowed him to go unchecked for years speaks to a deeper problem that movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp have been trying to solve. In the same vein of Roman Polanski’s continued success after he raped a young woman, Hollywood loves to protect white male predators who make what they perceive to be good art.
Amazon shelving the film is a good step in the right direction, as it means they are not giving Allen a platform from which he can achieve more undeserved glory and accolades. The scene with the flirtation between a teenaged girl and an older man points to the entire film having a similar predatory edge, and it is for the best that it isn’t given the hype that Allen’s devotees think he deserves. Time might really be up for Allen; let’s hope so, at the very least, because of all the predators in Hollywood, he needs to go first to set the precedent that just because someone is an auteur doesn’t mean they get a free pass.
(via IndieWire, image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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