Woody Allen is reportedly running into trouble selling a new memoir. Executives at four major publishing houses told The New York Times they all rejected a pitch to buy Allen’s memoir. The executives said an agent representing Allen contacted them late last year but none of them made offers. Allen reportedly had a full manuscript of the memoir ready for publishers to read, but some declined to even check out the material.
The main reason publishers passed on Allen’s memoir is because of the director’s alleged history of sexual misconduct. Allen’s adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, has accused the director of molesting her when she was a child. The allegation resurfaced in January 2018 in the height of the #MeToo and Time’s Up anti-harassment movements. As reported by The Times, some publishing executives said it would be “toxic” to work with Allen these days and and pointed out there are commercial risks to being associated with the director.
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Per The Times, “Each of the executives declined to speak on the record, citing an understanding of confidentiality between agents and publishers regarding nascent or unsigned projects.” Fellow writer and Allen’s acquaintance Daphne Merkin said the filmmaker had told her he was working on a memoir for a bit of time.
“He’s not one to set the record straight, but presumably, the memoir is his side of things,” Merkin told The Times. “He’s the kind of person who soldiers on, and someone whose work is his nutrient. Whatever vissicitudes he’s been exposed to, I think he keeps his own counsel about how all this affects and doesn’t affect him.”
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Since Farrow’s allegation against Allen has resurfaced, many actors who previously worked with the director have come forward to say they regret doing so. Actors such as Rebecca Hall and Timothee Chalamet have even donated their salaries from working on Allen films to anti-harassment charities such as Time’s Up and RAINN. Chalamet acted in Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York,” which Amazon Studios shelved indefinitely. The move prompted Allen to sue Amazon for $68 million. The lawsuit also claims that Amazon unfairly terminated its five-picture deal with the director. Amazon responded last month by saying Allen’s behavior “sabotaged” the deal.
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News broke in February that Allen was eyeing a return to filmmaking with a new production in Spain. The director’s last theatrical release was the Kate Winslet-starring “Wonder Wheel” in December 2017. Allen’s next movie has not been officially announced. IndieWire has reached out to Allen’s representative for further comment.
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