First, the numbers. Film number 51. The third in Spain. The tenth in Europe. The first in Madrid. And a guitar. Woody Allen is back. He never really left, even though he announced, or let it be seen, that after fifty titles maybe, just maybe, he would leave. But it is here again with the currently untitled Woody Allen Fall Project 2026, that is, the project that was going to be a summer project, but which has ended due to heat and climate change in autumn. In case anyone is confused, by the way, the guitar, not the clarinet, was the gift that the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, gave to the director as a thank you for his choice and for a six-week stay from now on (that will be the duration of the filming) both in the city and in Aranjuez.
And why Madrid, after Barcelona and Asturias (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), first, and San Sebastián (The Rifkin Festival) later? "I wrote the script before I had decided on the location in which it would take place," he said, not so much as a revelation (it's always like that) but as a presentation. "It just so happens that the diplomatic atmosphere in which the story takes place fits perfectly with the city," he added. The director made it clear that Madrid is not unknown to him, that he already knew the city before, from when he played for the first time with his jazz band in 1996 at the Teatro Momumental, whose name he could not remember. "I just remember," he said, "that it was a beautiful place and we were very impressed."
The statements were made by the 90-year-old director at the Teatro del Canal in the company of the two protagonists of the film. On one side, Alexi Wasser and, on the other, Peter Vives. It is known that the film will be photographed by the veteran José Luis Alcaine, Almodóvar's collaborator for many years. That is known and little else, aside from the slight reference to diplomacy. "It's a comedy and there will be intrigue, romance and infidelity. That is, everything necessary for a good story," said the filmmaker. The only clue of relevance escaped the lips of the actress who said that the plot reminded her of both Alice (1990) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). The first starred his ex Mia Farrow and the second starred his ex Diane Keaton. The first is a comedy with a rich, unemployed woman as the galvanizer of a very crazy story about magical herbs and the second is the same comedy, but mixed with criminal intrigue with a bored housewife with a proven love for investigation and, for that matter, gossip. Both, by the way, are masterpieces.
And at this point, little more.
At the hearing, there was a lot of talk about how wonderful Madrid is (money is required: the Community has disbursed 1.5 million euros) and something about everything else. Allen insisted on his idea of withdrawal, but without giving clues beyond the usual ones. "I always think about quitting. It's exhausting to shoot. In addition, cinema has changed a lot. Before, films spent months or a whole year in a cinema. Now just after the first two weeks, they are already shown on television. Everything is different. Everything has changed... My style of filming has also changed in the last 25 years and the blame is laziness, the tiredness I was talking about. Now, my takes are much longer. I only think about filming quickly, finishing as soon as possible and getting home." And what prevents you from abandoning everything and seeing your dreams come true? And back to Madrid: "When they told me about the possibility of filming here, I couldn't help it. It's a great opportunity for me, my children and my wife to be able to enjoy this city for a few months." And so on.
Perhaps the only truly novel confession of everything stated came from a reflection released without further ado about what makes a film good, very good, bad or a catastrophe. "The fault of a failure is never the director or the actors. Everything is in the script and it is always the fault of the scriptwriter," commented the one who has already been nominated for the Oscars 16 times in the screenwriting category with three statuettes to his credit.
