Amazon Accused Woody Allen of ‘Sabotaging’ Film Deal With #MeToo Comments

AceShowbiz -Amazon bosses have accused Woody Allen of “sabotaging” their film deal by making unguarded comments about sexual harassment.

Allen filed a $68 million (£52.4 million) breach of contract lawsuit against the firm in February, claiming they refused to release his new movie in accordance with a four film deal they agreed in 2015.

Amazon Film Studios chiefs have now responded to his complaint, accusing the filmmaker of harming his career by making comments on the allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, reported by his estranged son, the journalist Ronan Farrow. Farrow has backed his sister Dylan, who has accused Allen of sexually assaulting her as a girl.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon bosses accused him of “failing to grasp the gravity of the issues” raised by Farrow’s article nor the “implications for his own career” in their response to his suit.

In an interview with the BBC shortly after Farrow’s article was published in October 2017 Allen said the allegations against Weinstein, which he denies, were “sad for everybody involved” and warned against a “witch hunt atmosphere.”

Studio bosses counter to the “Annie Hall” director’s lawsuit stated that making the comments was “effectively sabotaging” efforts to promote his film “Wonder Wheel“, which bombed at the box office.

Also cited in the response is Allen’s reaction to Dylan accusing him of sexual assault in January 2018. The accusation first came to light in 1992 during his bitter divorce battle from ex-wife Mia Farrow, following his affair with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn.

He aggressively denied the claims, accusing the Farrows of using the Time’s Up and #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movements to bring up an old “discredited” allegation.

Amazon executives claim these comments and a remark that he should be a “poster boy” for #MeToo as actresses, many of whom later expressed regret at working with him, had never suggested he had been sexually inappropriate towards them, as grounds to end their deal. Production was completed on his next film, “A Rainy Day in New York“, in 2018 but Amazon execs shelved it and terminated their deal.

The 83-year-old has since signed a new production deal with Spain’s Mediapro group. According to Mediapro executive Jaume Roures, filming on his next movie will get underway in Spain in July and it will feature a famous American actress.

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