If you thought Woody Allen just went through his drawer of ideas, wrote up a screenplay and then just followed the money to wherever would be most advantageous to shoot, it seems that’s not always the case. While recent years have seen the writer/director decamp to London, Barcelona, Paris and Rome (and he returns to France this year to shoot his next film starring Emma Stone and Colin Firth) and entertain possibilities in Copenhagen and Munich, it seems he does put some consideration into the story he’s going to tell in each story. So sorry Swedish Woody fans, you’ll have wait for him to get to you.
Continuing to do the press rounds for his excellent new dramedy “Blue Jasmine” (review here), Allen recently spoke to Swedish paper DN (via Cineuropa) and revealed that he’s been lured to the country to make a film. “We have been offered the money—it is just me who has not yet come up with a sensible idea, but I will surely work it out. I love Stockholm, I have been there several times in private. It is not just about money—I want to make a story and a film that all locals can be proud of, without it becomes a pure commercial,” Allen said.
Apparently, there are already talks for the mystery project, which is said to require a budget of €14 million (about $18 million U.S.), but the public showcase for the city is considered invaluable by many. So we’ll see how it all works out, but one wonders if Allen feels any additional pressure considering Sweden is the home of Ingmar Bergman, his cinematic hero. So file it away for now, and we’ll see where Allen’s passport takes him in the next few years.