With "A Rainy Day in New York" Being Shelved, is this the End of Woody Allen's Career?

Woody Allen

Whether or not you like him, there is one thing apparent: Woody Allen is one of the most prolific filmmakers of the past 50 years. With limited exceptions, he has stuck a movie-a-year release schedule since the 1970's and has earned four Oscars for his writing and a Best Picture win for the romantic comedy Annie Hall. With all of this said, he has once again fallen under fire for an old scandal regarding sexual allegations against his daughter Dylan Farrow. With the Me Too and Time's Up movements causing The Academy to kick out other members with notorious reputations Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski, one has to wonder if Allen's days are numbered. Considering that Amazon has shelved his next film, A Rainy Day in New York, and his previous film, Wonder Wheel, was a legitimate Failed Oscar Campaign contender, it does seem like maybe just maybe this is the end of his career.

A Look at Woody Allen and Separating the Art and the Artist

Woody Allen

While my main goal on this blog is to not get too political, it's hard sometimes to avoid discussing certain things. If you're anyone who follows the media circuit, you'll know that this was a big day for Woody Allen. For starters, his new film Cafe Society opened Cannes. However, it was overshadowed by a variety of events including Ronan Farrow's excellent piece regarding the media's handling of Allen's own molestation charges. This has raised the obvious statement, and one when pieced together with a recent interview that suggested that he saved his wife and adopted daughter (the same person) Soon-Yi from misery, is that he's a creepy pervert. Here's my opinion: I acknowledge that all of this really does it make more conflicting for me to like his work, but it's also harder to not admit that I still like his work. It's time that I discuss the unfortunate deed of separating the artist from the artist.

My Top 10 Favorite Woody Allen Movies

Left to right: Woody Allen and Meryl Streep in Manhattan

Love him or hate him (I'm more in the former camp), Woody Allen has remained one of the most prolific and distinguished directors in American comedy. From his earliest days writing for Your Show of Shows to his later successes with films such as Annie Hall and Manhattan, he has made an enviable career with a film-a-year schedule that means that he has more misses, but his hits aren't without mention. Today marks the multi-hyphenate artist's 80th birthday, and with that, I am going to share my personal Top 10 favorites. Keep in mind that while I have seen 24 of his films, that's only half of his impressive total - meaning that I likely haven't seen all of the greats. If I'm missing one that's more obscure, please feel free to reference it in the comments section.

Nothing But the Best: "Annie Hall" (1977)

Left to right: Diane Keaton and Woody Allen

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

A Celebration of Best Picture Films Featuring Drug Use

Scene from Annie Hall

Do you like to party? Do you like prestige movies? Well, this article is the perfect crossroads for you. In honor of 4-20, a holiday based around freebasing, here is a look at the many films that have embraced debauchery and still managed to win the Academy's love. While we won't get into the drinks, we'll take a look at every drug-fueled film that has featured some sort of substance abuse and pay tribute to those Best Picture winners and nominees that made a difference while under the influence. So, I won't harsh your buzz for much longer. Just hit the jump to find get the full experience.

The Directors Project: #1 - Woody Allen

Scene from Cinema Paradiso

With the many lists and essays written on the subject of film, there has been one thing that The Oscar Buzz has tried to understand: Who is my favorite of the film world? For 10 weeks this summer, I will be exploring this with a countdown of the Top 50 names based on a numerical ranking of ratings from various sources, the following is a list of directors who rank above everyone else. With occasional upsets, this is intended as both a discussion opener as well as a better understanding of me as a film critic and fan. Please enjoy and leave any comments you have regarding the entry's selection.

My Top 20 Favorite Post-1970's Academy Award Best Picture Winners

As someone who enjoys writing about the Oscars for fun, I have also tried to make a decision to watch all of the Best Picture winners. At very least, this would help me to understand the cultural impact more and notice trends. I have gone through some highs and lows, and in the end, I come away with expectations that were either met or disappointed. In the past week, I have reached a new milestone with my goal and have seen every film that has won after 1970. The following is a compilation of my top 20 favorite as well as some honorable mentions and the five that I felt were least deserving (hint: I found some I liked less than Crash)