Q&A: "Barcelona" finds Woody Allen in romantic mood

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Overseas trips are less of a rarity these days for filmmaker Woody Allen, who for decades dreaded crossing the Hudson River.

His latest excursion will find Allen at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France, accompanying his out-of-competition feature "Vicky Christina Barcelona," which stars Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Before the festival, Allen spoke with The Hollywood Reporter.

The Hollywood Reporter: You wrote "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" with Penelope Cruz in mind. What's the tone audiences can expect?

Woody Allen: I was going to write something based in Barcelona, and I knew that Penelope wanted to do the movie -- this was a great incentive for me. It's not a comedy in the sense "Sleeper" was. It's about relationships, and to the degree that anything amusing happens, that's fine, but it's a romantic film more than anything else.

THR: Do you show the scripts in advance to your financiers?

Allen: No. Nobody sees anything ever. I have to raise money with the proviso that everything is under my control and that not everybody needs the script. And there are people who are willing to put up the money under those circumstances and people who are not.

THR: How has that affected getting your films made?

Allen: It hasn't affected them getting made or created any stumbling blocks. My movies are very inexpensive. I don't know that I could raise $30 or $40 million to make a movie without them wanting to read something, but my budgets are more in the $15 million area. And I have a reputation for being reasonably sane over many, many years. So they take a chance.

THR: Do you ever concern yourself with boxoffice?

Allen: No, I've never played that game because it's a very, very doubled-edged sword -- the 'hit-flop' syndrome, where you have a tremendous hit and then suddenly you get one or two that aren't and you're out. I work quietly, by myself, with small budgets. I'm not a big risk. If my film is a disaster, they lose a couple of bucks, so it doesn't mean that much to them. If you take all my pictures over the years, I've been a profitable investment, particularly as they've gotten into ancillary markets like DVD and television and foreign distribution. Even my most controversial dramatic films that haven't done well here made a little in France, a little in Germany, a little in DVD sales.

THR: You've gotten acclaim for your dramatic work in the latter part of your career. Still, there are people pushing you to do more comedy. How do you feel about that?

Allen: Maybe I'm wrong, but my feeling is probably if I did a film tomorrow like "Take the Money and Run," people would be surprised, but in not a positive way. They would have some kind of disappointment. I've gone on to make deeper films and feel they prefer them. Some people tell me their favorite is "Bananas" or "Interiors" or "Annie Hall." It's very personal. That's why many years ago I stopped reading reviews. There were so many disparate opinions, all valid and correct. You can't concern yourself with it. You learn nothing. You go nuts.

THR: How would you say that you're different as a filmmaker now than five or 10 years ago?

Allen: You do develop a certain amount of technique working with different cameramen, but basically films change only to the degree that you've grown as a person or shrank. That's reflected in my films, for better or worse -- what I've lived through, what I've read, how the world has changed. I've been a happier person. I've been more family oriented. I have two daughters, so I've had a more domestic life. I've spent a lot of time being a father, and it's been a positive experience. But from 62 to 72, I don't know that much has changed except in my arteries.

THR: You talked years ago about how you may not ever make that one masterpiece. Is that something you're still aiming for?