Dear Gossips,
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter published an interview with Woody Allen during which he talked about the impact he’s made on his wife Soon-Yi, how he’s improved her life, and given her all kinds of wonderful opportunities to become the woman she is today. He was not asked about his daughter Dylan Farrow and her allegations against him. As you know, this week, The Hollywood Reporter published a guest column by Ronan Farrow in which he called out THR for not pressing his father on the accusations and other members of the press for giving Woody a pass all these years. Ronan also specifically addressed how the structure of the Celebrity Industrial Complex favours celebrity over media – powerful publicists protect their clients by leveraging and withholding access, compelling journalists not to tell the real story but, more often than not, the story that the celebrities want to be told. But remember: Hollywood totally believes in free speech. Which must be why The Hollywood Reporter was banned in Cannes yesterday from a Woody Allen luncheon where he was promoting Café Society.
The ban was put in place by Woody’s long-time publicist Leslee Dart. She’s the one Ronan refers to in his piece. She’s responsible for successfully managing his public image through his breakup with Mia Farrow and subsequent relationship with Soon-Yi. Jezebel posted a great profile of Leslee Dart yesterday afternoon, focusing specifically on her Woody Allen strategy. Here’s a man who claims to be a neurotic, “nebbish”, bumbling writer satirist, tapping away at his typewriter, naively unaware of the rest of the world and how it works, knowing only his words and his stories, ostensibly one who believes the art speaks for itself. And yet the coverage of his art is tightly controlled by one of the most authoritative publicists in the business. Click here to read Jezebel’s brief history of how Woody Allen manipulated the media.
Have a great weekend!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
