AnnieHall Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I wasn't much of a collector when I was a kid. I could never keep a toy in it's package perched high on a shelf. In fact, usually the packaging would last about as long as it could take me to wrench my new She-Ra, Jem, or Barbie from their cardboard cage. But the one thing I did collect were trading cards, E.T. trading cards to be exact. But that was a long time ago, and those cards have long been misplaced (and I won't even dwell on the fact I had the complete set), so you can imagine the overload of nostalgia I experienced when I saw The Improbably Movie Cards over at Automatic Lifestyle Dispenser. Because, what these fine folks have done is made movie collector cards in that classic 80's style, but the catch is that these cards are for films that no person in their right mind would want to collect, and the results are pretty funny -- if not a little bizarre.

So how bad it could it be? Well, if you thought a Silkwood card might be in 'dubious' taste, wait till you get a look at the Schindler's List "Nazi's on The Move" card. Dispenser also made collector cards for good old Alvy and Annie, Sara Goldfarb, and even Charlie Meadows. But no trading card pack would be complete without the stickers, and luckily they have thought of that too, and we get collectible stickers of Colonel "The Horror" Kurtz, and Anton "Friendo" Chigurh. Unfortunately, these cards only exist online, but I don't think I would be the only one out there who would kill for their very own set of Annie Hall trading cards.

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) are in a long line for a movie, trying not to fight about their sex life, and Alvy is continually annoyed by a guy in line behind him, who rants on pompously and erroneously about any number of topics. And eventually, Alvy is able to do the one thing we'd love to do when we encounter That Guy In Line. How is McLuhan involved? Watch the relevant part of the scene after the jump (YouTube link) and you'll understand why this cameo is still classic comedy, even though McLuhan is no longer as generally well known as he was.

Whatever Works' title is the mantra of inveterate curmudgeon Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David), as well as that of Woody Allen, whose latest – and first to be set in his beloved Manhattan since 2004's Melinda and Melinda – hews as tightly to his trademark preoccupations as Of Mice and Men's Lenny clung to his rabbit. Casting David makes sense, as the Curb Your Enthusiasm star's crotchety on-screen persona more than slightly recalls that of Allen's. Yet rather than an inspired meeting of kindred minds, their collaboration does little except reinforce the notion that Allen's creative well has long since run dry, his films now split into either inert, heavy-handed, detached spectacles of pretty people doing naughty things in foreign locales (Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), or leaden comedic larks in which notable names embody Allen's archetypal kvetching role.

An erudite string-theory professor and all-around misanthrope with suicidal tendencies and an extensive vocabulary, David's Boris grumps and grouches like countless other Allen protagonists, right down to his guiding philosophy that the world is a cold, random place full of regret and misery, and that any rare chances at happiness should be seized.

If you were one of the people fantasizing about a nasty courtroom battle between the fashion outlet American Apparel and Woody Allen, get ready to be disappointed. It was announced on Monday, that Allen,"...had accepted a $5 million settlement in his lawsuit against the manufacturer, American Apparel, and Dov Charney, its founder and chief executive." Now if you remember, Allen had launched a suit against AA for at least $10 million after the clothier used an image from Allen's film, Annie Hall, of the director dressed as a Rabbi. When Allen found out about the ad, plenty of name-calling ensued, and AA's lawyers were ready and willing to take their fight to court in hopes of proving that Allen's image wasn't even worth that much thanks to his scandalous past.

Most of Allen's fans saw the incident as a clear-cut case of copyright infringement, but Charney and AA had a different take on their use of the image. In discussions with AA's PR representative, I confirmed that AA had intended the billboard to be a comment on the public perception of AA as a brand; or to put it in movie terms, AA was the Alvy Singer to the media's Grammie Hall. Sure, it's a good use of a movie reference, and I do see their point. But something isn't clicking when on one hand Charney says, "My intention was to call upon people to see beyond media and lawsuit-inspired scandal, and to consider people for their true value and for their contribution to society" and at the same time he was mounting a legal defense that seemed to be the opposite of his intentions (you can read Charney's full statement about the case on their website).

Just when you thought American Apparel couldn't get any sleazier, founder Dov Charney and his legal team have managed to set a new low. You might remember that back in 2007, the hipster clothing outlet put up a billboard featuring an image of Woody Allen in full Hasidic gear from his 1977 film Annie Hall. Remember that brilliant piece of marketing? Well, turns out nobody bothered to ask the man, and before you knew it, he was on the horn with his lawyers to launch a $10 million lawsuit against the company for the unauthorized usage of his image -- Allen even went so far as to call the brand, "sleazy", "adolescent" and "infantile". But it looks like things are going to get even uglier, because legal representation for American Apparel have announced that on May 18th in a Manhattan district court, they will rake over every salacious detail of Allen's personal life in an attempt to prove that Allen's image isn't worth much to begin with.

According to AA's lawyer, "I think Woody Allen overestimates the value of his image. Certainly, our belief is that after the various sex scandals that Woody Allen has been associated with, corporate America's desire to have Woody Allen endorse their product is not what he may believe it is." Now I might be a little biased on this one because I am a big fan of Mr. Allen's work, but dragging up old accusations of child molestation and details from his messy divorce seems shady even by Charney's standards. AA's lawyers have already requested documentation regarding 'sex scandals' and custody hearings (which Allen has refused to provide), and if Charney and his lawyer get their way, they will have turned a simple case of copyright infringement into a full-blown personal attack.

Do you think AA has a point? Is Allen's personal life fair game? Or is this just an attempt to avoid a $10 million payout by embarrassing the man? Sound off below...

My earliest memory of film is of my parents telling me that Annie Hall was a great movie, and when I grew up I'd understand what that meant. When I was a little kid, I had this image in my head of Annie Hall being the only film ever made because my parents watched nothing else for what felt like forever ... even if it was only a few months or so. I was quoting Annie Hall before Sesame Street; for a long time, this was the be all end all when it came to cinema -- and to a certain extent, it still is.

And my favorite scene from Annie Hall has always been this one. I never really understood this scene -- or the film itself -- until I grew up and one night found myself on line for a movie with the most annoying, loud-mouthed moron standing behind me. I forget exactly which movie it was, but this guy was talking about the filmmaker's intentions, and how he knew it all because he once met the director at a bagel shop. Who knows ... but boy did I want to turn around and scream bloody murder. At one point or another, this has happened to all of us; in fact, I bet it happened to a few of you this weekend.

If you've never seen Annie Hall, do yourself a favor and watch it. And if you have seen it, then watch it again ... and again. They just don't make them like this anymore.

A fact about this scene (from IMDB):

• Marshall McLuhan was not Allen's first choice. Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel were asked first.

Woody Allen's latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has earned mostly rave reviews, and it's doing well at the box office -- or, that is, it's doing well for a Woody Allen film. It opened in 10th place for the weekend of Aug. 15-17, the first time an Allen film has cracked the top 10 at all (let alone opened there) since Small Time Crooks, eight years and eight movies ago. And Small Time Crooks was the first one since Husbands and Wives, eight years and eight movies before that.

I wouldn't say there's ever been a time when Allen's films routinely made the top 10 -- he's always managed to release a total flop here and there to break up the streak -- but it certainly used to occur much more frequently than it does now. Manhattan opened at #1 in 1979, possibly the only Allen film ever to do so. (I can't find specific weekend data on Annie Hall, which is the only other likely candidate.) Various others have spent at least a couple weekends in the top 10. Still, no Allen film has ever been what you'd call a "blockbuster." His biggest hit, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), made $40 million and never got higher than 5th place at the box office. Granted, if you adjust for inflation, Annie Hall's $38 million would be about $120 million today, and that would be considered fantastic for a low-budget indie. But it's still not commensurate with how beloved and acclaimed Allen is.

Consider this: Woody Allen has directed 38 theatrical features. The Dark Knight has made more money than all 38 of them combined. Isn't it strange that one of the most iconic American filmmakers of all time can barely scrape together a crowd to actually watch his movies?

• Evelyn Keyes (1916-2008) - Actress - Played Scarlett O'Hara's little sister, Suellen, in Gone With the Wind. She also co-starred in The Seven Year Itch, The Jolson Story, in which she also sings, Mrs. Mike, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Union Pacific, Before I Hang, A Thousand and One Nights, The Prowler, Johnny O'Clock, Enchantment and A Return to Salem's Lot and made a cameo appearance in the 1956 version of Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by her then-boyfriend Michael Todd. Her husbands included Artie Shaw, John Huston and Charles Vidor, who directed her in The Desperadoes, The Lady in Question and Ladies in Retirement. She died of uterine cancer July 4, in Montecito, California. (Variety)

• Henry Beckman (1921-2008) - Actor - Appears in The Brood, Niagara, The Wrong Man, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Marnie, Sweet Charity, Silver Streak, I Love You to Death, Death Hunt and Kiss Me, Stupid. He died June 17 in Barcelona. (Variety)
• James "Jimbo" Breen (1955-2008) - Greensman, Carpenter, Actor - Worked on M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable and The Village, appears in Lady in the Water and can be heard in The Happening. He also worked on Beloved, In Her Shoes, Two Bits and Annapolis. He died of cancer July 3, in Pennsylvania. (Philly.com)

(In honor of Mother's Day, we're launching a series of posts today written, in part, by our mothers after we asked them one simple (yet very complex) question: What's your favorite movie and why?)

The first film I ever watched with my parents was Annie Hall. I was three. I'd go on to watch bits and pieces of it throughout the years (my mother always had it on), but it wasn't until later in life that I came to really appreciate everything this film represents and all that it means for my eccentric Jewish family from New York. So when I asked my mother for her favorite movie, I already knew this would be the first one out of her mouth ...

"At that time, I related to Annie Hall. I always dressed differently; was always trying to better myself. We were hip, your Dad and I; we lived in the city and I even had a Bloomingdale's card that Daddy was always trying to take away from me. I just saw myself in this film. I went to school, but never finished -- not only was Woody Allen at his best when he made this film, but he also captured this time in New York City perfectly. A close second after Annie Hall would be The Big Chill -- because I never graduated college and I never had a group of friends like that, so I was always drawn to that movie. And the soundtrack ... how do you beat that soundtrack?"