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Arts & Entertainment

Here's The Trailer For Woody Allen's New Period Film, 'Cafe Society'


By

Jen Chung

Published May 10, 2016

Modified May 10, 2016


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By

Jen Chung

Published May 10, 2016

Modified May 10, 2016


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Fresh from airing his opinions about (how horrible) bike lanes (are), Woody Allen is heading to the Cannes Film Festival to premiere his latest movie, Cafe Society. Since his last movie was set in present day academia, this one is a period piece taking place in NYC and Hollywood.

Here's the short description of the movie: "Set in the 1930s, Woody Allen’s bittersweet romance CAFÉ SOCIETY follows Bronx-born Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) to Hollywood, where he falls in love, and back to New York, where he is swept up in the vibrant world of high society nightclub life."

As you can see, Kristen Stewart is playing the love interest of the Eisenberg's Woody Allen-surrogate (he also apparently romances Blake Lively's character!). In an interview with Variety, Stewart discussed Allen's daughter's claims that he sexually abused her (Allen denied the allegations).

She was concerned at first but had a conversation with her co-star, "I was like, ‘What do you think? We don’t know any of these people involved. I can personalize situations, which would be very wrong.’ At the end of the day, Jesse and I talked about this. If we were persecuted for the amount of shit that’s been said about us that’s not true, our lives would be over. The experience of making the movie was so outside of that, it was fruitful for the two of us to go on with it."

Here's the long description of the film, which is co-produced by Amazon (Allen is also working on a TV series for Internet company)—basically all you need to know is that Corey Stoll is in it:

Centering on events in the lives of Bobby’s colorful Bronx family, the film is a glittering valentine to the movie stars, socialites, playboys, debutantes, politicians, and gangsters who epitomized the excitement and glamour of the age.

Bobby’s family features his relentlessly bickering parents Rose (Jeannie Berlin) and Marty (Ken Stott), his casually amoral gangster brother Ben (Corey Stoll); his good-hearted teacher sister Evelyn (Sari Lennick), and her egghead husband Leonard (Stephen Kunken). For the hooligan Ben, there are no questions that can’t be answered with brute force, but the others are more likely to ponder deeper matters, like right and wrong, life and death, and the commercial viability of religion.

Seeking more out of life, Bobby flees his father’s jewelry store for Hollywood, where he works for his high-powered agent uncle Phil (Steve Carell). He soon falls for Phil’s charming assistant Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), but as she’s involved with another man, he settles for friendship. Bobby also befriends Rad (Parker Posey), a model agency owner, and her husband Steve (Paul Schneider), a wealthy producer.

When Vonnie’s boyfriend breaks up with her, Bobby seizes the opportunity to romance her, and she ultimately returns his affections. When he asks her to marry him and move to New York, she is tempted, but things do not go as smoothly as planned.

Heartbroken, Bobby returns to New York, where he begins working for Ben, who has muscled his way into owning a nightclub. Bobby displays natural talents as an impresario and swiftly promotes the club into the hottest in town, renaming it “Les Tropiques.” Rad introduces him to the beautiful socialite Veronica (Blake Lively) and he courts her assiduously. Although he is still carrying a torch for Vonnie, when Veronica reveals she’s pregnant, they marry and begin a genuinely happy life together.

Everything seems to have fallen into place for Bobby until the night Vonnie walks into “Les Tropiques.”

Cafe Society will be released in the U.S. on July 15.

Tagged

cafe society

movie

woody allen


Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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