The Past is a Strange Place

Studio 54, 1978.

Cold Souls, Odd New Film

"Woody Allen's turn came, and he opened his box and his soul is a little chickpea. So he's super upset, and he said there's no way he made 43 movies and his soul is a chickpea." -- Cold Souls writer/director Sophie Barthes, explaining that the genesis of her film came from a dream, as quoted by Peter Knegt at indieWIRE.

A Dapper Dude in Smart Spectacles

File this under novelty. Woody Allen gifted Penelope Cruz with a pair of his trademark glasses. All things considered, there are worse gifts a person could receive.

Woody Appreciates

Many are aware of Woody Allen's love of Bechet and Bergman, but sometimes he voices appreciation for others and not a single solitary soul notices. We wanted to call your attention to a few documentaries you may have missed that fall into the category of "under the radar." Each of the following features some commentary from Allen.

Brother Theodore, a documentary about comedian Theodore Gottleib.

Sid Caesar: Inside the Writer's Room looks back on the man and his variety program.

The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell features some reflection from Allen on comedy's first family.

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures is a recent look at the famous director.

Sidney Bechet: Treat it Gentle is an homage to the jazz great.

The Outsider is a film in tribute of director James Toback.

Most recently is Glass: A Portraint of Philip in Twelve Parts. Around the same time as this documentary was being made, Glass wrote the score for Allen's Cassandra's Dream.

Where Woody Writes?

Cityfile brings our attention to the latest Architectural Digest, which, for reasons unclear to us, is running a story on the Allen-Previn townhouse. The interior decor is not what we'd expect, but what is more troubling is that we'd have expectations. Can one argue modus ponens from a set a films to the decorative inference? The lunacy of fandom looms large in these little moments.

At any rate, we admit to scanning the room for his infamous idea drawer and the image to the left could be the desk where Allen knocks out New Yorker shorts, plays and the annual screenplay. From appearances, he must be in between plasma HDs.