Woody Allen—whose once gilded reputation has taken a major hit in the #MeToo era—has a memoir that he would like to publish. There’s just one hitch: apparently, no one wants to buy it. According to The New York Times, execs at four major publishing houses claim the director has a finished manuscript that he has been shopping around to publishers in the last year, but he has not received any offers to publish it, as far as they know.
Allen has seen his reputation in Hollywood dwindle over the course of the past few years, ever since his estranged daughter, Dylan Farrow, began speaking publicly again about her claim that Allen molested her when she was a child. (Allen has always vehemently denied the allegations and, after a legal battle in the 90s, was not criminally charged.) Her allegation has caught on in the last two years, primarily because of the industry’s wider sexual misconduct reckoning. Actors who once starred in the director’s films, such as Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page, and __Colin Firth, have expressed regret over working with him. In addition, multiple stars of his upcoming film, A Rainy Day in New York, have formally distanced themselves from the project. The pileup of negative press caused Amazon to shelve the film indefinitely, and ultimately freeze his four-movie deal with the studio.
Allen has since filed a $68 million suit against Amazon, claiming a breach of contract. Amazon has rebutted by citing the actors who have spoken out against Allen, as well as Allen’s own clumsy remarks about the #MeToo movement, claiming he has put the studio in too difficult of a position.
Allen is not without his high-profile supporters; actors like Javier Bardem, and, more recently, Anjelica Huston, have said they would still work with him. However, the tide seems to have turned on the once untouchable filmmaker. Now that Hollywood has (mostly) turned its back on him, it seems the publishing world has, too. Representatives for Allen have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment. When reached by the Times, Allen’s agent, John Burnham, said only this: “For the 30 years that I’ve worked with Woody, the standard mantra on anything is, ‘I can’t discuss his business.’”
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