Woody Allen attends the premiere of "Wonder Wheel" at Museum of Modern Art on November 14, 2017. (Getty)
After being put on the shelf by Amazon, Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” is to be released in Italy in the fall via distributor Lucky Red, with other European territories also believed to have closed local distribution deals, a source familiar with the situation told Variety.
Following Amazon’s decision to halt the film’s release and cut ties with Allen, the romantic comedy starring Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, and Jude Law is now being sold by Glen Basner’s FilmNation Entertainment, the source said, adding that other European deals had also been closed.
FilmNation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Italy’s Lucky Red has confirmed Italian press reports that it will release “A Rainy Day in New York” on Oct. 3, leading to local speculation that the film could launch in September at the Venice Film Festival. The fest could not be immediately reached for comment. Lucky Red previously released Allen’s 2017 “Wonder Wheel,” starring Kate Winslet.
Allen’s “Anything Else” screened as the Lido opener in 2003.
Not much is known about the plot of “A Rainy Day in New York” except that it’s an ensemble romcom involving two young people who arrive in New York for the weekend and that it may include a narrative strand in which an older man, played by Law, has a relationship with a young woman, played by Fanning, who was 19 during production. The film was completed in 2018.
The Allen film has become toxic in the U.S. because of the renewed attention to the sexual molestation allegations leveled at Allen by his daughter Dylan Farrow. Allen denies the allegations.
Last June, Amazon broke its four-picture deal with Allen, which included “A Rainy Day in New York,” reportedly allowing Allen to dispose of the film as he pleased. In response, Allen recently sued the shopping giant’s streaming service for at least $68 million.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the resurfaced allegations that Allen molested his daughter nearly three decades ago, several actors have distanced themselves from the director, including Chalamet and Gomez, who donated their salaries for the film to Time’s Up and other organizations.
However, in an interview with The New York Times published last November, Law said that the shelving of the film by Amazon was a “terrible shame.” “I’d love to see it,” Law said. “People worked really hard and put a lot in, obviously himself [Allen] included.”
Allen is currently working on a new film being backed by Barcelona-based Mediapro, which has financed several other of his films, including “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Midnight in Paris.”
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