Apropos of Nothing Kindle Edition

I have been up all night reading this and think it's brilliant. I'm about halfway through. Woody Allen grew up six blocks from where I grew up in Brooklyn, so it's a real kick to take a walk down memory lane to places like the Midwood Theater and Dubrow's! The writing is very conversational (I think it could have used some editing on that score, perhaps, but I'm a stickler for grammar...). Woody Allen mixes his trademark humor (which sometimes falls flat here, alas, just like some of his films -- look, as he writes, comedy is about personal taste), with periodically profound and extremely poignant observations. My grandmother and aunt introduced me to his movies in the 1970s when I was a kid, and I've remained a loyal fan ever since. It's sort of like being able to sit with him over a coffee at Dubrow's (before they turned it into a Gap) and just hear him reminisce about the amazing people he has known and worked with. What a gift!UPDATE: I finished the memoir yesterday and wanted to add a few thoughts. For one, I found the first half much stronger in terms of Allen's observations about life, the universe, and everything. The second half is less strong on that score, but, I must add, his aperčus and one-liners are much funnier. I read with great interest what he writes about the Farrow saga, about which I knew very little. Tabloid stories have never interested me very much. My impression is that what he writes is credible. But others must judge for themselves. I found his discussion of his later films rather disappointing -- lots of name-dropping and a quick trip down memory lane, but without adding anything really insightful about his craft or any of the films. He anticipates this criticism on the last few pages, pointing out that he really has nothing interesting to say about his movie-making style. He repeatedly emphasizes in the memoir that he is no intellectual, not a great artist, etc. etc. At first I thought this was coquetterie. But by the time I finished the book, I am convinced that he is being honest. Woody Allen is great at one-liners, as he writes himself here. And I think he really appreciates and enjoys thinking about high art and culture. But. he is no great intellect. Who cares? Many of his films have been an important part of my life since I was a kid. Some of them are, I think, masterpieces (Husband and Wives, Match Point, Manhattan, Purple Rose, Hannah and her Sisters). That said, I'm not so sure, after having read this, that I'd want to spend an entire evening chatting with him -- at Dubrow's or anywhere else! That sounds harsher than I mean it to be. He strikes me as very defensive and irretrievably unhappy, and I think spending time with him would simply be a disagreeable affair (no pun intended). That said, he seems to have found some modicum of happiness with his current wife and their children. I wish them all the very best.

Funny, frank, fascinating, insightful, and frequently self-deprecating. I'm SO glad Mr. Allen found a publisher with a spine, so that his story could finally be told, despite the avalanche of ignorant, anti-Woody propaganda that was - and is - sure to meet its release. Hard facts and solid evidence are of no interest to the Woody-haters. It's like trying to convince a Trumper that they just might have erred in their choice of leaders. Read this book and then decide for yourself whether or not he sounds as if he's a sick monster. (Spoiler alert: He is neither.) A remarkable and revealing memoir by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time - and a very funny fellow.

To get the elephant out of the room up top: I believe that the attempted "cancelation" of Woody Allen is unfair, even disgraceful -- and I highly recommend reading Robert Weide's extraordinarily detailed "case closed" account of the so called "allegations." It simply makes zero sense that in the middle of a heated divorce battle, in a houseful of children and nannies, that Woody Allen suddenly decided to start molesting children (something he was never accused of doing before or after) -- in an attic crawlspace no less. (And forget the fact that two separate state sanctioned investigations found no molestation took place). I only mention my feelings on that issue, as this book will no doubt be polarizing for those who want to "tear him down" vs those who want to "hear what this genius has to say." Well, I am here to say: this is a brilliant, insightful, funny, quirky book by a unique thinker, and a cultural icon. Don't believe the "cancel culture" apoplexy without reading this engrossing autobiography. What emerges is a extremely well-written book full of many fascinating stories, told in great detail, with intelligence and wit, about an unusual, awkward, one-of-a-kind artist. Where his movies "came from" makes a lot more sense after reading this book. Please don't give in to the (negative) hype. Read it, and decide for yourself. I have no doubt that the genius of Woody Allen will long be remembered after his (clearly disturbed, and brainwashed) son is just a footnote to history.

OK. Some people hate Woody Allen - true? True. And they will hate this book. If they can manage to read it all the way through. Which I doubt. So I think I've figured out how come. Here goes: 1) He is happy. Woody Allen is happy - basically. OK so he's neurotic as hell - but he's happy neurotic. And you know what makes some people really upset is happy people - they can't stand happy people - and Woody Allen is happy and his happiness shines through in this book. If you're not happy this book will reveal that - and you may not like it. If you're happy - you'll celebrate him and life through and with this book. Next? 2) He takes the michael out of himself and life. He's very English in that way - continually taking the P. Now people who take themselves seriously - will not like this. People who take themselves seriously are going to hate this book. 3) He laughs at the accusations that but-job Mia F has made - because they are so obviously boll. ocks. The moment you hear the detail from those involved it should take you about 0.5 nanosseconds to figure out who's been telling the truth about all that cr. ap. And its not Mis Farrow. And to think the first publishers had to withdraw because all their woke employees had a collective hissie fit about this. WTF eh? Look there's probably a 4 and a 5 and a 6 and all the way to three trillion other reasons how come people will not like this book - but if you're basically a happy person and enjoy taking the P from time to time and have a nose for truth in amongst boll. ocks - you're gonna love this book. Enjoy.

Loved this autobiography. I have been a fan of Woody for over 50 years and this book affirmed that he is a wise soul --able to laugh at himself and at the ridiculousness of life. It was good to know the truth of the Mia Farrow accusations --Woody is so obviously innocent and that has been backed up by judges, police and psychiatrists over the past decades. Why do people continue to believe Mia? I think simply because its fashionable to be part of the me too culture. Crazy sheeple!

Much like all showbiz autobiographies, the opening few chapters that take us from childhood influences, families, school-days, early opportunities, attempts and fails is a fascinating insight into what shaped and made the ideas, ideals and attitudes of our heroes.Apropos Of Nothing’s opening meets this demand and gives glorious highlights of Allen’s world of the school, sports, parents and families that shaped his unique outlook on life. Glorious imagery of summer Brooklyn days on baseball mounds and movie theatres evoke warm, “Radio Days” nostalgia which, for fans of “early funny ones”, is just what we were looking for.Once success hits (precociously young) as Allen finds $40 a week hammering out snappy Bob-Hope-style gags for gossip columnists, however, it all slows down.We are presented with a trundling list of projects that hop between successes and disappointments. Allen’s “please himself” approach – with little interest in box office or Academy plaudits – means we get little more than short personal opinions on the movies he felt “worked” and those that didn’t (most of them).Hundreds of pages follow as he moves from scribbling scripts on a yellow legal pad to casting (“just get good people and get out of the way”) to filming (“overcast skies are best, get it done by five”) to next project to next project to next project (skipping any that don’t have an amusing anecdote). As fans know, almost none of his movies came out like he wanted. But there is an “ah well, let’s try again” factory approach it seems and for the reader, little insight into the writing, performing or creating that I imagine many hungry fans will be hoping for.Allen admits he has little interest in talking about these things.What he does want to spend a huge amount of time doing is setting his side of the Farrow-Soon Yi story, which for movie fans, is a tiring Netflix-doc wade through evidence, justification, lawyers statements, court reports, social-worker commentary and testimonies. Similarly the more recent backlash as stars distanced themselves from him gets a huge wad of pages. It’s fair to say you could add up everything Woody Allen has to say about Manhattan, Annie Hall, Sleeper, Hannah & Her Sisters, Crimes & Misdemeanours and Mighty Aphrodite and it wouldn’t be even HALF of what we get on his incredulity on tabloids and Mia Farrow’s maternal instincts. (“I hope that’s not why you bought this book” he remarks at one point). To be fair, for this reader at least, Faber’s “Woody Allen on Woody Allen” is much more rewarding for the film-fan. Those however who seek a trial by trial explanation of the Soon-Yi/Satchel/Moses tabloid-fest will find plenty here.There’s all the whimsy you’d expect in between the paragraphs and paragraphs of how beautiful and talented actresses are and how commanding and talented their male counterparts. And travelogue hopping-about between European cities and restaurants. However the last half of the book whips by with name-dropping and compliments and happy words about marriage and love and almost nothing to say about his art, apart from the odd casting mishap or lighting snafu.One for the completist, I would say. More about the man than the movies, which I suppose one would expect from a “life story”. But given – by his own admission – it’s been a simple life of lucky breaks and hard work, marred by two career-defining scandals and break-even annual art-house releases that even Allen doesn’t believe are up to much, I would take a collection of his hilarious fiction over “Apropos…” any day of the week.Remember, Allen is not a man who wants to live on through his work. He’d wants to live on in his apartment.

An autobiography as witty and entertaining as one would expect from one of cinema’s all-time great writer-directors.

Amazing autobiography from one of the best artists of all time.If you read it, you will see that Woody spends a long part of the book writing about the false accusations created by Mia Farrow. He's not just presenting his side, but the facts, all very proven information. It's not a surprise that Mia and Ronan Farrow have tried hard to stop the publication of this book. It's a shame the original publisher dropped it. Fortunately, the book was published by another publisher and we still can believe that there is good sense between the literary world. Stopping someone from showing their side of the story would be nothing but censorship in a cancel culture world.Pity that Woody needs to spend so many pages of this book talking about this case and defending himself. Some of his best movies are barely mentioned. I'd like to read more details about how they were created, filmed and written. Woody is in his 80s today so we probably won't get another book about his life at least not from himself.Anyway, this is an amazing reading for Woody fans and cinema lovers. If you buy it because of the controversial case, well, you will get that as well and hopefully will understand that all accusations were just a revenge from a betrayed woman.