Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Whatever Works: Woody Allen On Woody Allen
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 26, 2010
Modified Jun 26, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 26, 2010
Modified Jun 26, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Woody Allen spoke to the Times of London this week and said, "Nobody wants to see a guy who’s 74 hitting on a woman of any age. But I don’t want to make geriatric movies about old people because they bore me too." But it's okay to have 60-something Larry David marrying the nubile Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works?
He also said of his own films, "There are a few better than others, half a dozen, but it’s a surprising paucity of worthwhile celluloid," and named his favorites as Purple Rose of Cairo, Match Point, Bullets Over Broadway, Zelig, Husbands and Wives, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The Vulture says his picks are "Proof again that artists have no business judging their own material"; a British critic offers up his top and worst 10 lists of Allen's films and slams Match Point, Cassandra's Dream and Scoop because "his lack of knowledge of the nuances of British society was all too apparent."
And in an interview with the Telegraph, Allen admits to living in a bubble on the Upper East Side (he does everything within blocks of his home), says he rarely eats meat ("I’ll have a steak twice a year. But the guilt afterward is not worth the pleasure of the meal") and is downbeat on the critical reception of his films: "I feel it’s a lose-lose proposition. If a film gets bad reviews, nobody comes. If a film gets good reviews, maybe people come, and maybe nobody comes. But it’s never, if it gets good reviews, then they really come. For me, it’s lose, and, you know… maybe."
Tagged
film
movies
upper east side
whatever works
woody allen
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .