Has Woody directed his last film?

He was on studio welfare. I guess he outlived his usefulness to them.

He will be replaced by some Nigerian-Argentinian transgender comedian film director probably.

I doubt anyone on this site knows for sure whether Woody Allen is ready to retire or, as the case may be, unable to get financial backing for what movies he might want to direct in the future. From what I know of him he's a workhorse and if he had his way would continue to make movies till he dropped. The guy's not just old. He's freakin' ancient now. I'm on the old side and Woody's got a lot of years on me.

As to his future in a broader context (yeah, I know the OP didn't intend to start a thread about this), I have no personal investment in Woody Allen, Film-Maker. I like his early films, was a fan into the Eighties, through Zelig and Radio Days, never quite "got" the class that Mia Farrow was supposed to bring to his films. She was okay but not a major talent.

As I think it was Pauline Kael who wrote (I paraphrase, and very loosely) Woody Allen seemed to be judging the state of his art and status generally by the exquisite cheekbones of Miss Farrow. They were like a yardstick to measure how far he'd come. It did seem that way to me back in those days, but it didn't bother me. If Mia's classy looks gave Woody more confidence as an artist, more power to him.

Instead, the dam broke, and there was all that scandal. I don't think that Woody Allen is as crazy or even neurotic as he's made out to be by his detractors, or even by himself in some of his films. He's a shrewd, gifted artist who aimed higher than he could reach. He hankered after greatness in his art, in the European manner, and by the time that phase of his career was in full throttle the art film tradition of the old world was changing, the old order dying off or retiring.

By the time the Nineties and, worse yet, the new Millennium rolled around Woody Allen had become old-fashioned. Worse, the world, the contemporary world of, especially, his beloved New York, beautifully rendered in some of his earlier films, had changed almost beyond recognition. The culture, I mean. It wasn't there anymore. Younger folks, the New Bohemia or whatever the hell is happening these days in greater New York has moved on to other things. Up and coming artists and critics have agenda of their own.


That's a hell of a long post/essay I wrote...More musings on Woody Allen, his life and career than speculation on whether he's directed his last film. I'd say we probably heard the last from Woody the film-maker. The dude's got good genes. His father made it to a hundred. Woody may get there, too. So if he isn't in steep cognitive decline and his physical health holds up there may be a few more Woody Allen pictures down the road.