#276 | Should the Life of an Artist Impact What You Think of Their Art?—Woody Allen’s Memoir Shines Light on This
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti discusses Woody Allen’s memoir, “Apropos of Nothing,” exploring Allen’s prolific filmmaking career, signature style, and comedic influences, while also addressing the controversies and allegations that have shaped public perception of Allen. Vigliotti emphasizes the importance of separating art from the artist and highlights the memoir’s humor, creative insights, and behind-the-scenes stories. He shares memorable quotes from the book and encourages listeners to connect with him on Instagram for further literary inspiration.
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TOPICS COVERED IN the EPISODE:
Introduction to the Episode (00:09) - Overview of the podcast, focus on memoirs, and introduction to "Apropos of Nothing" by Woody Allen.
Woody Allen’s Career and Notable Works (01:07) - Discussion of Woody Allen’s filmography, writing career, and signature style in filmmaking.
Collaborators and Personal Relationships (02:09) - Mentions frequent collaborators, ex-wife Mia Farrow, and the complexity of Allen’s personal life.
Woody Allen’s Style and Appeal (03:08) - Analysis of Allen’s minimalistic, dialogue-driven style and why the host is a fan.
Controversies and Public Perception (04:22) - Addresses sexual abuse allegations, investigations, and the impact of public opinion on Allen’s legacy.
Separating Art from the Artist (05:35) - Host’s perspective on judging art independently from the artist’s personal life and controversies.
Book Content and Themes (05:35) - Summary of memoir’s content: Allen’s early life, influences, fame, creative process, and behind-the-scenes stories.
Favorite Quotes and Woody Allen’s Humor (06:43) - Shares humorous and insightful quotes from the memoir, illustrating Allen’s wit and advice to creatives.
Creative Vision and Individual Style (08:56) - Discussion on the importance of individual vision in creative work, using Allen and other directors as examples.
Final Quote and Episode Wrap-Up (10:07) - Ends with a quote about "Annie Hall," episode summary, and reminders about subscribing and connecting with the host.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do so. This week I have a work of non-fiction. I'm continuing on the trend of featuring autobiographies or memoirs. This is actually a memoir. It is titled “Apropos of Nothing” by Woody Allen, clocks in at 400 pages or so, and it came out in 2020. So I will be sharing a lot more about the author, the book, what you could take away from it, why I am sharing it on this podcast, and what I think you can learn from it. And also, of course, some of my favorite quotes. On that note, I will remind you that if quotes are something that you are interested in, maybe you should consider the companion newsletter that goes with this podcast, which is just a once-a-month email that rounds up all of the episodes from that month, complete with full book and author information. Episode summaries. All of my favorite quotes, as well as additional book recommendations. So if that sounds like something that you are interested in, all you have to do is head over to the website BooksforMen.org.
01:15- Okay, so let's pivot back to the reason why you were here. So I'm sure you've heard the name before, Woody Allen. Although it's always interesting to me when I meet a young person who doesn't know who someone is, who I think that it is a given that they would. But it does happen from time to time. And to me, that's really a testament of so many things, impermanence, unimportance. But I don't want to get off track. All to say, Woody Allen is one of those people. He's done over 50 films published, I don't know, ten plus books, both fiction and non-fiction, in what I think is around a seven-decade career or something crazy like that. He's been active for a really, really long time. Some of his most notable films are the Oscar winner for Best Picture, “Annie Hall”, a movie that is just so good. Still to this day, I just watched it again recently, but also “Manhattan,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” and then more recently, “Match Point,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Both feature Scarlett Johansson, who was a frequent collaborator with him.
02:13 - He did that quite a bit, actually, both with Diane Keaton, who sadly just passed away, in some of those more iconic films that I had already mentioned. And also his ex-wife Mia Farrow, who has a very troubled relationship with. I will get into that momentarily, but some other films that I just love that he has done are “Midnight in Paris”, which is with Owen Wilson, “Blue Jasmine” with Cate Blanchett, and “A Rainy Day in New York”. That was in 2019 with a very young Timothee Chalamet. I've seen so many of his movies. Woody Allen, that is not Timothee Chalamet, although I have seen quite a few of his movies too. Stylistically, though, a Woody Allen movie is pretty unmistakable. I would say it's one of those things that you either like or don't. To me, there is nothing harder than when you have two people in a room or a scene and they're just talking, disagreeing, but creating tension with each other.
03:08 - It's very minimalistic and relies on the wit and sensibility of the storyteller or filmmaker, but it's the root of great drama. It's just so lifelike, and there's nothing better when well done, at least for me. And Woody Allen does this incredibly well. As you might imagine, I am a fan, and this is primarily why I wanted to share this book with you, among a few other reasons. But I guess this is a good time for me to not get ahead of myself and turn more to the book. The memoir, “Apropos of Nothing”, even the title, is very Woody Allen, as I would say, and cynical, making fun of himself in a way. So the book obviously is about Woody Allen's life through the lens of Woody Allen. Since it is a memoir again, he's another character like others that I've featured on this podcast, who is very complicated. On one hand, he's this neurotic but unassuming funny little guy from New York City. on the other hand. He's the guy who married the adopted daughter of his ex-wife, Mia Farrow, who also had made sexual abuse allegations against him with one of their daughters.
04:22 - And I will just say that in the 90s, a six-month-long investigation by Yale-New Haven Hospital's Child Sexual Abuse Clinic was conducted and found that no sexual abuse had occurred in the court of law also agreed with that. But even still, the accusations continued to shape the conversations around his work. We live sort of in the court of public opinion, so this idea always interests me in general. I'm not here to say what he did or didn't do, but at some level, we have to allow some vindication or ability for people to defend themselves because anybody can accuse anybody of anything. And this is, again, not something that I take lightly at all. In many ways, he spends a great portion of this book addressing those controversies, as it wouldn't be much of a memoir without it. Having said that, I've grown to, and it's something you've heard me say on this podcast before. I've learned to divorce the personal life from the art, sure, the life of an artist informs the art. But for me, the art should not be judged on the merits of whether you think someone is a good person or not.
05:35 - If that were the case, I think you would have to question much of the art that you think you enjoy, as many artists and high performers tend to be complicated individuals, and if you go digging, you're sure to find some hairy things underneath those rocks. Some might say this is the very thing that lends itself to creating interesting art. So the book, because it has to tackle this, contains a slight bitterness, but not overpowering the comedic element, which features his signature skepticism. But it also covers his early life in Brooklyn, all of his comedic influences like the Marx Brothers, the overall impact of fame on him and those around him, and his ideas on living a creative life in the creative process. And then, of course, he dishes on the making of some of his more famous movies, which, for any fan, makes it a really interesting read. So I could yammer on and continue to talk about Woody Allen and what this book offers. But I think you probably get the point. It's a memoir about his life through his eyes.
06:43 - Having said that, I think it will be impactful to share a few quotes, and the first one I wanted to share with you is one that is sort of representative of his humor. And I actually laughed when I read this out loud, and he writes: “A big night until that moment at her front door. When he in hand, she gives me what basketball players call an up fake. She snaps upward. I fall for it and leave my feet as if to block her jump shot. And she goes right past me inside.” And of course, he's talking about himself not having the chutzpah to make the move and kiss the girl at the end of the night. I thought it was funny. And then here's an extended passage on his advice to young filmmakers. I think you can extrapolate this out to any creative person, though. And he writes: “My advice to young filmmakers who ask me is always lay your proboscis on the grindstone. Don't look up. Work. Enjoy the work if you don't enjoy the work.
07:44 - Change occupations. Don't be outer-directed. You know what you think is funny or what goals you are striving for. That's all you need to know. You have a vision. Try to execute it. Simple as that. Judge yourself. You know if you've made the movie you envisioned when you started. If you did, great. Enjoy a warm feeling of accomplishment. Wink at yourself in the mirror and move on.” Which, for most, is probably just straightforward advice, but he kind of builds off of this with another quote that I had pulled, and he writes, “I never test-screened my movies. I am not interested in collaborating with viewers to make my film. Once I hand it in, it's done. The film company can test, screen, and have cards filled out if it helps their marketing strategy. But don't tell me about it because I'm not interested, nor am I changing anything.” And I think that this all just goes hand in hand with this idea of not allowing anything from the outside to be a distraction on the main objective, which is doing the work in creating the thing in the way that you want to create it.
08:56 - Sure, it's a very singular, individualistic approach to creation, and movies, even more than a lot of other mediums, are extremely collaborative, but there's something to be said for an individual vision. On any creative project, the style becomes unmistakable. You know, when you're seeing a Woody Allen film, you know when you're seeing an Alfred Hitchcock film. You know, when you're seeing a Quentin Tarantino film or a James Cameron film or a Christopher Nolan film, now these are all really big directors. But at the end of the day, it's very similar to someone who isn't known because style is your signature, whether you quote-unquote make it on that style or you don't make it on that style, it's all you've got. So sticking with it and being true to it is a really important thing. And I think Woody Allen's creative message, if nothing else, is a testament and advocate for that. And I will end this episode with one final quote, because I think it's funny and very indicative of Woody Allen. And he's speaking on Annie Hall. “The movie opened and soon became everyone's favorite. People were in love with it. This instantly made an old cynic like me suspect of its quality.”
10:14 – All right, so I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, I want to quickly remind you to please click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on. It is the best way to support the show. It's how new listeners find the show, and in return, we inspire more men to read. If you want to connect with me, there are two ways to do so: on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. I do have a book out. It is titled “Aristotle for Novelists: 14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story”. I've also just started doing some videos to support its one-year anniversary on my Instagram. So if that sounds like something that you're interested in, either head over there or visit the website AristotleforNovelists.com. Last but not least, I wanted to thank you so much for listening and remind you that if you want more information on this podcast specifically, which includes that newsletter that I mentioned at the top of this episode, then all you have to do is head over to the website BooksforMen.org.
