- Title: Woody Allen presents latest offering 'Cafe Society' at Cannes festival
- Date: 11th May 2016
- Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 11, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, JESSE EISENBERG, SAYING: "When I was 16, I was so inspired by discovering Woody Allen at that age that I, yes, wrote a script that was based on him and it got sent to agents because they thought that it was funny and it got sent to ultimately his lawyers who didn't think it was funny and they sent me cease and desist letters and that was the end of that. And it looks like now it might be the end of this (SHOWING ALLEN AND HIMSELF)." STEWART AND ALLEN AT END OF NEWS CONFERENCE / CAST AND CREW STANDING AND LEAVING ALLEN SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS ALLEN AND EISENBERG LEAVING
- Embargoed: 26th May 2016 14:37
- Keywords: Cannes Film Festival Woody Allen Kristen Stewart Jesse Eisenberg
- Location: CANNES, FRANCE AND UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
- City: CANNES, FRANCE AND UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: France
- Topics: Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0054HD64B1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Woody Allen presented at Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday (May 11) his latest film 'Cafe Society', which will kick off the Cannes Film Festival later in the day.
A romantic tale of the 1930s in Hollywood New York City featuring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, together on screen for the third time, 'Cafe Society' has all the ingredients of an Allen movie - it's jazzy, witty, well interpreted with the support of Steve Carrel, Blake Lively and Parker Posey.
A lot of Allen himself can be found in his star character, interpreted by Eisenberg, and the U.S. director said he would have played the role himself several years ago, but this time he decided to be the narrator in his film.
"I felt it should, like a novel, have the voice of the author in it and since I was the author, I did the narration, otherwise I would have got somebody else to do it, but I figured I may as well do it myself because I wrote it and I can narrate and it's cheaper," he told a packed news conference.
In 'Cafe Society', Bobby Dorfman (Eisenberg) leaves New York City to make a living in Hollywood, hoping his uncle, top-notch impresario Phil (Carrell), gives him a chance. In Tinseltown he meets Vonnie (Stewart), settles for friendship after learning she has a boyfriend before she knocks up at his door after being left by her lover.
The 'Twilight' star said it was the first time she played a role that was so far from her personality and that she had had difficulties to know how to approach the role, before giving up to spontaneity.
"I've always worked extremely, the work that I've really enjoyed and I don't know, my better work, it's really impulsive and really spontaneous and I haven't really had a step outside of my natural default settings, my personality, my demeanor.. So in this case I approached it in a way that I luckily abandoned almost immediately once we started filming, but at first I thought I was going to have to learn every single line perfectly and we were going to... You know, he doesn't rehearse or anything like that but I felt that I needed to prepare. And I'm really bad at that, and it didn't really work out," Kristen Stewart said.
Allen is opening proceedings in Cannes for the third time after 'Hollywood Ending' got the cinema extravaganza started in 2002 and 'Midnight in Paris' was the first movie of Cannes 2011, but always refused to be part of the competition.
"I don't believe in competition for artistic things. Competition is great in sports, where that's the object of it but you make a film, the jury will award a film they will say was the best film and I may find it the most boring film at Cannes. Someone else finds my film boring, someone else loves it. It is all very subjective," he said.
Asked how he was staying fit during long hours on set despite his age, he said he didn't feel old and would continue making films as long as possible.
"Now I'm sure one day I'll wake up in the morning and, you know, I'll have a stroke or something and I'll be one of those people that you see in a wheelchair and they'll say 'Remember him? He was Woody Allen and he was always... And now look he's doing this...' But, until that happens, I was going to continue to make films as long as people are foolish enough to putt up the money to support me," he said.
Allen and his actors will inaugurate the Cannes red carpet later on Wednesday for the grand opening of the world's biggest cinema showcase that will last until May 22 when the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, will be awarded. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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