When Woody Allen’s typewriter revealed its secrets
Woody Allen at his typewriter, 1970 in “The Straw Man”
Quelle: FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
When our columnist visited Woody Allen 50 years ago, he glimpsed a manuscript. The master director was not amused – and threw him out. Nevertheless, there was a second encounter. This time Allen’s self-mockery was tested.
Hdid he or didn’t he? Namely his seven-year-old adoptive daughter Dylan sexually molested, as she and her mother, Woody’s former partner Mia Farrow, claim. I myself, like the judge in this case, tend to side with the doubters. Though my two encounters with Woody didn’t exactly showcase his best qualities.
The first went back to his early days – it must have been 50 years ago. It was at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and when I walked in he was typing on his Olympia German typewriter. “Woody, why’s your face so grim when you write?” He: “You think it’s fun to be funny?” Apparently, of all the things he doesn’t care about, my desire to interview him reigns supreme. Now the phone is ringing in the next room. Woody disappears.
Inevitably, I am drawn to the typewriter. There the following text: “Woody as a suicide. Got poison. Like everything these days, it’s sealed in unbreakable plastic. Woody pulls, bites, grabs the kitchen knife, cuts next to it. blood swells. Woody races to the medicine cabinet, connects. Take a deep breath. Saved!” I laugh out loud, causing Woody to hastily re-enter. end of an interview.
Second encounter with Woody Allen
Another attempt three decades later. This time everything begins with a postulate that I have never known before. A New York attorney demands my written assurance that the finished film must receive Woody’s approval before it is broadcast. And the shooting time must not exceed 45 minutes. We accept, embarrassed. First scene in the lobby of New York’s “Carlyle” Hotel, where Woody and his band hold a monthly clarinet recital. He plays beautifully, if a little bit wrong.
Second scene in the editing room. Whereby the editing table, he and the editor are maneuvered into the corner in such a way that only the bald back of his head remains visible. Third take, interview: “Woody, you’re mainly known on the east coast.” The main thing is always New York. And, you see, every kid in Brooklyn knows me.” (Looks at the clock): “And now your forty-five of an hour has just ended. Good luck to Germany.” Angry, we pull away. With the camera rolling, we ask the kids in Brooklyn about Woody Allen. Typical response: “Woody who?”
Four weeks later, as agreed, we send the finished film to the New York lawyer. We never get an answer. Was Woody too busy to enjoy our product? Or does he have more self-humor than expected? In any case, our film is broadcast in Germany with great success.
Georg Stefan Troller, born a Jew in Vienna in 1921, met all the intellectual greats of the 20th century as a writer and documentary filmmaker. How was it? Ask him at [email protected]. And read his answers in the column “Troller’s Century”, every first Sunday of the month in the print edition of “Literarische Welt”.