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.