farmdoc's blog post number 438

Today I write about Allen Konigsberg. You may know him better as Woody Allen. In the world of films, Woody’s prolific. Wikipedia says he’s been involved in 72 films – 57 as an actor, 43 as a writer and 47 as a director. His first movie, What’s New Pussycat, was released in 1965. Last Saturday night Sweetheart Vivienne and I watched the 2008 film that Woody wrote and directed: Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I liked it. The Spanish settings are superb, the characters physically attractive, and the story fascinating. But to me the most interesting aspect’s that its four main characters – a Spanish man and woman and two American women – are all aged in their 20s and 30s. As the husband and father of some wonderful writers, I know that people write most authentically and credibly about topics they’ve knowledge of. And especially ones they’ve experienced. So what’s Woody, a 73-year-old American, doing writing a film about people 40-50 years younger than he is? Unlike Clint Eastwood say, why doesn’t he write films about people his own age? I guess it’s due to his famed neuroticism. He’s such a sensitive and perceptive person, I’d like to see him write and direct films about 60-75 year olds. But he probably won’t, because Vicky Cristina Barcelona was on many critics’ lists of their 10 best films of 2008; and up to February 2009 it grossed US$88M against its US$20M production cost, it’s one of Woody’s most lucrative offerings. Ho hum.