It would appear that Woody Allen isn’t content with just riding out this latest controversy silently. After his past accusations of child molestation were brought to light, yet again, last year, in light of the #MeToo movement, the filmmaker’s latest work, “A Rainy Day in New York,” was seemingly shelved by its distributor Amazon. Now, Allen is fighting back with a new lawsuit.
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According to the lawsuit filed today (via THR), Allen is asking for $68 million after Amazon reneged on a multi-film deal that includes the release of ‘Rainy Day.’ He says the breach of contract of the multi-picture film deal is due to “a 25-year-old, baseless allegation.”
The complaint states, “Amazon has tried to excuse its action by referencing a 25-year-old, baseless allegation against Mr. Allen, but that allegation was already well known to Amazon (and the public) before Amazon entered into four separate deals with Mr. Allen — and, in any event it does not provide a basis for Amazon to terminate the contract. There simply was no legitimate ground for Amazon to renege on its promises.”
If you’re wondering why the legendary filmmaker is asking for $68 million, the report says that this is based on his guaranteed earnings from the four films, plus damages and attorney’s fees. Needless to say, even though Amazon is a massive tech company with billions and billions of dollars, $68 million is enough to get the company’s attention.
The lawsuit continued, “Despite repeated requests from Plaintiffs, Defendants have not identified any provision in any of the Allen Film Agreements giving Amazon Content the right to terminate—and, in fact, no such provision exists. In short, after Defendants used Mr. Allen to promote and build Amazon Studios’ standing as a full-fledged film studio, they discarded him, repudiated the Allen Film Agreements, and refused to honor their commitments to him or Gravier.”
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It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Allen. After vehemently denying the accusations yet again, the filmmaker went silent. Reports surfaced that Allen was struggling to find financing for a new film and would, in effect, be taking some time off. That would mark the first time in his decades-long career that he hasn’t had a new film released on a semi-annual basis.