Back in February, Woody Allen filed a lawsuit against Amazon Studios for canceling the release of his film A Rainy Day In New York, accusing the streaming service of breaking their four-picture contract over - his words here - “a 25-year-old, baseless allegation.” Amazon has filed an official response, countering that it was Allen’s controversial statements regarding the #MeToo movement - not the well-known allegations themselves or his penchant for writing super creepy shit - that made it “impracticable” to promote and release the film.
“Understood in the broader context, Allen’s actions and their cascading consequences ensured that Amazon could never possibly receive the benefit of its four-picture agreement,” the response states. Amazon further claims that Allen’s comments on the Harvey Weinstein scandals, where he stated that they were “very sad for everybody involved,” including Weinstein, sabotaged their efforts to promote one of Allen’s other films, Wonder Wheel. There’s also the small obstacle of the “scores of actors and actresses expressed profound regret for having worked with Allen in the past, and many declared publicly that they would never work with him in the future.”
Sure, all of that - added to the entirety of Allen’s very famous reputation - might make matters a little difficult.
[Via IndieWire]