Woody Allen :: essays research papers

Woody Allen has proven himself as one of the forefathers of the American film industry and media as a whole. He has helped mold the standard for modern day film through is many movies that cover a wide range of styles, from comedy and drama to romance to tragedy. He has acted in 28 of the 36 movies he has produced while also famous for his writing. Allen is known best as the creator of films containing self-deprecating and intellectual mockery. His films typically parody the neuroses of the social class of New York sophisticates. Almost of his movies dealt with sex. Woody Allen was born in Brooklyn N.Y. on December 1, 1935 as Allen Steart Koinsberg to Martin and Nettie Konigsberg. Allen briefly attended New York City College, although he never graduated. During college, he wrote one-liners for the columnist Earl Wilson. It was at this time that he changed his name from Allan Konigsberg to Woody Allen. Soon after, he began writing for television, and in the early ‘60s, he worked as a stand-up comedian. In 1964, Woody Allen, a comedy album featuring his stand-up material, was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1965, he wrote his first screenplay, What’s New, Pussycat, a film in which he also starred. Following the success of this film, he directed What’s Up, Tiger Lily? in 1966, a James Bond spoof that was not as commercially successful as What’s New, Pussycat, but which nonetheless established Allen as a cutting edge humorist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His featured stars that he selects for his movies are often the most established or up-and-coming actors of the day, and he frequently works with the same actors as well as technical crew. Dianne Wiest, for instance, was featured in Radio Days in 1987 and Bullets Over Broadway in 1994. Judy Davis, another Allen favorite, has appeared in Husbands and Wives released in 1992, Deconstructing Harry in 1997, and Celebrity released 1998. Additionally, Allen has a history of casting his significant others for his films. Louise Lasser, to whom Allen was married in the late ‘60s, starred in numerous film and theater projects penned by Allen. Works featuring Diane Keaton, whom Allen dated in the ‘70s, included Sleeper, 1973; Annie Hall, 1977, which earned Allen an Oscar for Best Director; Manhattan, 1979; and Radio Days, 1987. Mia Farrow, for whom Allen wrote numerous roles throughout their long-standing relationship, appeared in The Purple Rose of Cairo, released 1985, Hannah and Her Sisters, in 1986, also featuring Wiest; Alice, 1990, Shadows and Fog, 1992 and Husbands and Wives released 1992.