Yesterday we ran the story that Woody Allen’s only biological son, Ronan Farrow, had tweeted a happy Father’s Day message in which he quipped “or, as they call it in my family, happy brother-in-law’s day.” Ronan’s mom, Woody’s ex partner Mia Farrow, then retweeted the message, adding “Boom.” I thought that might be the end of my interest in this story, because I don’t want to think too hard about Woody grooming one of Mia’s adopted children for his own purposes. (Woody’s wife Soon Yi Previn is now 41, but she was barely legal when she started “dating” Woody, who was a father figure to her by some accounts. Kaiser wants me to point out that they didn’t live together, though, and that Soon Yi was never his daughter, legally or otherwise.) Then someone posted a link to this Vanity Fair article from 1992, which I couldn’t put down, all eight pages of it. If you have some time to kill, it’s fascinating. As many of you mentioned it makes me concerned for Woody’s current daughters, adopted with Soon-Yi and pictured here.

Some hold the opinion that Mia accused Woody of sexually abusing their seven year-old adopted daughter together, Dylan, at the time of their breakup because she was hurt and outraged that he had taken up with barely legal Soon-Yi right under her nose. There have been accusations that Mia coached Dylan to claim that Woody abused her. The case against Woody in this Vanity Fair article is convincing. It’s of course only one side of the story, and Woody was ultimately not convicted of abusing Dylan. Given his behavior with Soon-Yi, I didn’t find this other story hard to believe. Here’s part of the article, which I would recommend you read in full if you’re interested in this case. (Note that “Satchel” is Ronan Farrow’s given name.)

Calling attention to someone’s birthday-party behavior may seem trivial at best. However, Dr. Coates, who just happened to be in Mia’s apartment to work with one of her other children, had only to witness a brief greeting between Woody and Dylan before she began a discussion with Mia that resulted in Woody’s agreeing to address the issue through counseling. At that point Coates didn’t know that, according to several sources, Woody, wearing just underwear, would take Dylan to bed with him and entwine his body around hers; or that he would have her suck his thumb; or that often when Dylan went over to his apartment he would head straight for the bedroom with her so that they could get into bed and play. He called Mia a “spoilsport” when she objected to what she referred to as “wooing.” Mia has told people that he said that her concerns were her own sickness, and that he was just being warm. For a long time, Mia backed down. Her love for Woody had always been mixed with fear. He could reduce her to a pulp when he gave vent to his temper, but she was also in awe of him, because he always presented himself as “a morally superior person.”

One summer day in Connecticut, when Dylan was four and Woody was applying suntan lotion to her nude body, he alarmed Mia’s mother, actress Maureen O’Sullivan, and sister Tisa Farrow when he began rubbing his finger in the crack between her buttocks. Mia grabbed the lotion out of his hand, and O’Sullivan asked, “How do you want to be remembered by your children?” “As a good father,” Woody answered. “Well, that’s interesting,” O’Sullivan replied. “It only lasted a few seconds, but it was definitely weird,” says Tisa Farrow.

On August 4, Woody was in Connecticut to visit the children, and Mia and Casey went shopping, taking along Mia’s two most recently adopted children—a blind Vietnamese girl named Tam, 11, and Isaiah, a seven-month-old black baby born to a crack-addicted mother. While they were gone, there was a brief period, perhaps 15 minutes, when Woody and Dylan vanished from sight. The baby-sitter who was inside searched high and low for them through the cluttered old farmhouse, but she couldn’t find them. The outside baby-sitter, after a look at the grounds around the house, concluded the two must be inside somewhere. When Mia got home a short time later, Dylan and Woody were outside, and Dylan didn’t have any underpants on. (Allen later said that he had not been alone with Dylan. He refused to submit hair and fingerprint samples to the Connecticut state police or to cooperate unless he was assured that nothing he said would be used against him.) Woody, who hated the country and reportedly brought his own bath mat to avoid germs, spent the night in a guest room off the laundry next to the garage and left the next morning.

That day, August 5, Casey called Mia to report something the baby-sitter had told her. The day before, Casey’s baby-sitter had been in the house looking for one of the three Pascal children and had been startled when she walked into the TV room. Dylan was on the sofa, wearing a dress, and Woody was kneeling on the floor holding her, with his face in her lap. The baby-sitter did not consider it “a fatherly pose,” but more like something you’d say “Oops, excuse me” to if both had been adults. She told police later that she was shocked. “It just seemed very intimate. He seemed very comfortable.”

As soon as Mia asked Dylan about it, Dylan began to tell a harrowing story, in dribs and drabs but in excruciating detail. According to her account, she and Daddy went to the attic (not really an attic, just a small crawl space off the closet of Mia’s bedroom where the children play), and Daddy told her that if she stayed very still he would put her in his movie and take her to Paris. He touched her “private part.” Dylan said she told him, “It hurts. I’m just a little kid.” The she told Mia, “Kids have to do what grown-ups say.” Mia, who has a small Beta video camera and frequently records her large brood, made a tape of Dylan for Dylan’s psychologist, who was in France at the time. “I don’t want to be in a movie with my daddy,” Dylan said, and asked, “Did your daddy ever do that to you?”

According to people close to the situation, Mia called her lawyer, who told her to take Dylan to her pediatrician in New Milford. When the doctor asked where her private part was, Dylan pointed to her shoulder. A few minutes later, over ice cream, she told Mia that she had been embarrassed to have to say anything about this to the doctor. Mia asked which story was true, because it was important that they know. They went back to the doctor the next day, and Dylan repeated her original story—one that has stayed consistent through many tellings to the authorities, who are in possession of the tape Mia made. The doctor examined Dylan and found that she was intact. He called his lawyer and then told Mia he was bound by law to report Dylan’s story to the police.

Mia, who never sought to make the allegations public, also told Dr. Coates, who is one of three therapists Woody Allen has seen on a regular basis. Coates too told Mia that she would have to report Dylan’s account to the New York authorities, but that she would also tell Woody. Mia burst out crying, she was so afraid. Ironically, the next day, August 6, Woody and Mia were supposed to sign an elaborate child-support-and-custody agreement, months in the negotiating, giving Mia $6,000 a month for the support of Satchel and Dylan and 15-year-old Moses, the other child of Mia’s whom Woody had adopted on December 17, 1991. Mia believed Woody’s sessions with Dr. Coates had definitely improved his demeanor with Dylan, but because of her concern about Woody’s past history, she had insisted that he not have unsupervised visitation until Dylan and Satchel were through the sixth grade, and that he no longer be able to sleep over at her country house, as he had so far insisted on doing, but stay in a guest cottage across the pond.

[From Vanity Fair's archive, 1992 article]

Again, this is wholly Mia’s side. She’s responding, via the press, to allegations by Woody that she made up the details about Dylan’s molestation because she was a crazy vindictive spurned woman. I believe this story and find it pretty chilling. Again, this man seduced Soon-Yi, but he claims he was never much of a father figure to her and wasn’t around her much. It all sounds like excuses after the fact.

After we published that story, I found these recent photos of Woody hugging up on his two adopted daughters, Manzie Tio Allen and Bechet Dumaine Allen, in Beverly Hills on Friday. I’m one of those affectionate moms and I often hug my son. I don’t think it’s weird to hug or kiss your kids. I also found this older photo of Woody out with the girls as young children, and he’s holding both of their hands. I can’t get a definitive age for his daughters, but they look to be about 14 and 13 now. From what we know of Woody’s history, and about the other allegations against him, I just get a strange impression of this. He knows he’s being photographed, so why doesn’t he hug up on his wife instead of his daughters? It’s possible he hasn’t seen them in a while and is greeting them here.

Photo credit: FameFlynet

Ronan Farrow, Michael Moore and Mia Farrow, via Twitter

We’ve covered Ronan Farrow, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s 24 year-old biological son, just twice. Ronan is a good-looking and incredibly accomplished guy in his own right. The first time we covered him was to announce that he got a high level position in the State Department. Ronan is just 24 now, and he graduated from Yale Law School at 21 and was named a Rhodes Scholar last year. He describes himself on Twitter as a “Writer, human rights lawyer and diplomat, most recently Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues.”

So he has an impressive resume and an important career. That doesn’t mean he’s immune to family drama, and his family drama is worse than most. The last time we covered Ronan the National Enquirer was reporting that he was “disgusted by [his dad] Woody [Allen] and his relationship with Soon Yi.” You surely know the background on this, but I’ll just quickly recap: Soon Yi was adopted by Mia Farrow and her ex husband, Andre Previn, when she was eight. (Here’s a link with more background on Mia’s family and her many kids.) When she was 21, it was revealed that Soon Yi was having a relationship with her mother’s then-partner of 12 years, Woody Allen. Woody and Mia of course split up, Soon Yi went on to marry Woody in 1997 and they’re still together. All of this has never sat well with Woody and Mia’s son, Ronan. He’s previously said of Allen: “He’s my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law. That is such a moral transgression.”

In a new tweet, Ronan repeated that same sentiment. It’s clear he’s still estranged from his dad, and he’s poking fun at that.

Can you imagine your dad marrying your damn sister? There’s no free pass for that, other then legally (which I guess is all that counts to Allen), because she’s adopted. Hollywood forgives a lot of things that seem unforgivable, don’t they?

General Wesley Clark with Mia and Ronan

photo of Soon Yi and Woody Allen credit: WENN.com. Other photos via Twitter

I can’t keep up with all of the film festivals these days – I thought the Los Angeles Film Festival didn’t happen until October or November? But maybe I’m thinking about the AFI Film Fest or something? Anyway, last night the LA Film Festival began with the premiere of Woody Allen’s new movie, To Rome With Love. Penelope Cruz stars in the film – this is her second collaboration with Woody, I believe. The first collaboration was Vicky Christina Barcelona, and Penelope ended up winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role. In that film, she played a crazy, temperamental, bisexual artist. In this film, Penelope plays a hooker. Because Woody Allen writes so well for women.

Anyway, Penelope wore this Michael Kors which is… okay. I’m not in love with the color, but it’s not bad on Penelope with her beautiful, dark coloring. On a blonde, it would look like oatmeal fug. My biggest problem with this look? Penelope’s beautiful hair looks dirty and oily. What’s the deal? Is that a style choice or is she really walking the carpet with dirty, unwashed hair?

Here’s the trailer for To Rome With Love. It looks cute. Sort of. I do think it’s nice that Woody is mining some fresh young talent like Jesse Eisenberg and Ellen Page.

I’m also including a photo of Julie Delpy because I love her un-Botoxed face, and Woody and Soon Yi. On the red carpet, Woody was asked about his recent “dinner” with Lindsay Lohan, and he said this: “I wouldn’t hesitate to use her in a movie because she’s a very talented girl. That was a social dinner [not for a movie]… I would not hesitate if I had something for her I would certainly call her.” Gross.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Thank you so much for visiting, reading and commenting! Kaiser, Bedhead and I appreciate it and hope you’re having a great holiday. Let’s all raise our glasses to the year in gossip and best wishes for a happy scandalous 2012. Have an excellent New Year!

Here are our most popular posts of 2011 based on number of comments:
1. Brad Pitt backtracks: “It is not that Jen was dull, but…”

2. Brad Pitt talks about “feeling pathetic” in his marriage to Jennifer Aniston

3. Jennifer Aniston named “the Hottest Woman of All Time” by Men’s Health Mag

4. Angelina Jolie: “I’m still a bad girl, it just… belongs to Brad and our adventures”

5. Halle Berry on Nahla’s race: “I feel like she’s black, I believe in the one-drop theory”

6. Eddie Cibrian cut child support at same time he “bought” $85k ring for LeAnn

7. LeAnn Rimes bought Eddie Cibrian a Porsche for Christmas, and that’s not all

8. Heidi Bivens’ mom confirms Heidi’s “complicated” meeting with Jennifer Aniston

9. The Royal Wedding Open Post: When Baldy Met Glossy

10. Woody Allen’s son disgusted by his dad marrying his sister & won’t talk to him

Update: Here are the most popular stories based on number of pageviews, not comments. Disclaimer: The Goop story had so many hits because some huge newspaper website in the Netherlands linked it.

1. Gwyneth Paltrow goes topless, wears fishnets for Vanity Fair: Goopy or cute?

2. Prince William is worried about Kate Middleton’s dramatic weight loss

3. Jim Parsons’ boyfriend called off their wedding because Jim doesn’t want kids

4. Mila Kunis’s cell phone pics of Justin Timberlake were reportedly hacked

5. More “Blake Lively” naked photos released, is it really Blake?

You may know about this story already but it’s news to me. Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s biological son Ronan Farrow, 23, is a former child prodigy and now works as a Special Adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ronan is so gifted that he graduated Bard college at 16 and then went on to Yale law school, which he graduated at 21. Apparently Ronan threw himself into his studies and later his career, and hates his dad and doesn’t even talk to him. Who can blame him when his father married his own sister? Soon Yi is 41 now but she was just 21 when she allegedly first started seeing Woody in 1991, who was 55 at the time. As background which you probably already know, Soon-Yi was adopted by Farrow and her then-husband, Andre Previn, in 1978 when she was about eight years old. Farrow and Previn split up and she got together with Allen in 1980, when Soon-Yi was about 10. Once Soon-Yi was legal (or maybe before), Woody was all over that. It’s interesting to hear how his son feels about it. Again, these quotes are older but they’re new to me.

‘He’s my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law. That is such a moral transgression,’ Ronan has said.

‘I cannot see him. I cannot have a relationship with my father and be morally consistent… I lived with all these adopted children, so they are my family. To say Soon-Yi was not my sister is an insult to all adopted children,’ – Via The Daily Mail. Quotes are from several years ago.

---

“Ronan grew to hate his father,” continued the source. “He was disgusted by Woody and his relationship with Soon Yi.”

“Ronan couldn’t care less if Woody’s proud of him or not,” added the source. “The only person who matters to him is his mother.”

[From The Daily Mail and The National Enquirer, print edition, December 19, 2011]

I guess this story of Ronan’s estrangement from his dad came out again after the news late last month that Ronan had been awarded a prestigious Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford for a year. There also was a PBS special on Woody called American Masters that aired recently, and Woody “never mentions Ronan in the entire three-and-a-half hour series,” according to The Daily Mail. For her part Mia Farrow has acknowledged no longer speaking with her daughter Soon-Yi, who is still married to Woody Allen. Mia said of Soon-Yi in 2006 “It’s been a long time now. And I really don’t think of her as my daughter any more. I can’t. She isn’t. She’s estranged – and strange.”

Woody and Mia had son Ronan and they also adopted two children together. Mia had three biological children and three adopted children from her relationship with Andre Previn prior to Woody. After Mia and Woody split up, she went on to adopt six more children to bring her total number of kids up to 15. That must have been a pretty crazy household.

Woody and Soon-Yi Previn are shown in Rome on July 21, 2011. Woody is holding the hand of his adopted daughter, Manzie. They are also shown at Cannes on May 11, 2011. Ronan and Mia Farrow are both shown in 2009. Credit: WENN and Fame

While Woody Allen was filming Midnight In Paris, the tabloids went wild with the speculation that poor Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was such an inept actress that she needed 35 takes to film just one scene that involved a baguette and no dialogue. Now, the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival has commenced, and Allen (along with most of the principal cast) is on hand for the screening of Midnight in Paris, which contains a very wide-ranging cast including, of all people, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrian Brody, and (of course) Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen addresses (among other things) those rumors about Carla’s alleged skills as an actress as well as paparazzi fallout:

THR: What led to your casting Carla Bruni?

Allen: With Carla, my wife and I were having brunch with the Sarkozkys about a year and a half ago. I had never met them before. He was very charming, very nice, and then she walked into the room. She was so beautiful, so charming and charismatic, I said, ‘Would ever think of being in a movie? Just a small thing, for fun, for your own amusement. I knew she wouldn’t be available for three months of shooting, but I knew she had been before audiences before, playing the guitar, singing, making recordings. She said, ‘Yes, just once in my life I’d like to do it, so I could tell my grandchildren I was in a movie.’ So I said, ‘I’ll make it very simple, just a couple of days work. Something I know you can do, not something we have to work six weeks on. If you can relax and enjoy yourself, you will be fine.’ And she said, sure, she’d love that. And so she came in. She was no problem, she was very natural. The tabloids kept printing that I was doing a million takes with her, but I wasn’t at all. I was doing the normal amount of takes. I certainly don’t do a million takes with anybody, and I was only doing a normal amount with her. Her husband came to watch her work one night and thought she was just great, beautiful and a natural actress. All of the scenes that I wrote for her are in the picture and she did them well. It was a very pleasant experience doing the picture and very pleasant working with her.

THR: Did you realize when you cast her, she’d be a magnet for the paparazzi?

Allen: We have that all the time, whenever we are working in the street. When I was working in England with Scarlett Johansson, the tabloids were all over the place. When I was working in Barcelona with Javier and Penelope, the tabloids were out en masse. And when I work in New York, and there is someone in the movie of interest, they just come flocking. Here, interestingly, her first scene was in the Rodin Museum, so we had that privately to ourselves. So the paparazzi couldn’t get in there. Of course, then when we were working on the street, they were there, but that does happen. It happened with Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson just as much.

See, I was really skeptical when the Daily Mail quoted a source saying that Allen “wasn’t particularly enthused” about Carla’s on-set performance. Mostly because Woody Allen never looks particularly enthused about anything. Even when he cracks a smile, the guy looks positively miserable. Anyway, Owen Wilson fans will be pleased to know that Woody wanted to cast Owen so badly that he rewrote the main East Coast character to suit Owen’s West Coast personality:

THR: The movie has a very eclectic cast — how did it fall into place?

Allen: I was certain I wanted Rachel McAdams. I knew that. She had always been what I conceived of for her part. The lead was a more East Coast character in the original script (casting director) Juliet Taylor suggested Owen Wilson. I had always been a fan of his, but always felt that has a very West Coast persona. He belongs very much at home on a beach or with a surfboard. So I rewrote the script, making the character a West Coast character. I sent it to Owen and I was very lucky he wanted to do it. Once I had them, I thought about Marion Cotillard. I guess she is the first person you think of when you think of France and getting an actress who is great in the same sense that when I was making Barcelona, I thought of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem because they are the internationally known giants of that country. The same thing here. Marion is not just a local French actress, she’s a great, internationally known movie actress. And she was available and willing to do it.

THR: Is that unusual for you, to rewrite a character to suit an actor?

Allen: That does happen, and I’m happy to do it if I can get an actor like Owen, who is a strong person to play something. Then I am perfectly willing to rewrite a character if I can rewrite it. Of course, there are some characters that you could never change. That would ruin the story. But very often you can adjust a character. If you have a strong personality, sometimes it requires an adjustment.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Ideally, Owen’s performance will be good enough that it will help revive his career after it went to the dogs with Marley and Me and Marmaduke, but we’ll have to wait and see on that one. For now and since it’s Cannes time, everyone wants to know whether the Sarkozys will attend the premiere, and even Woody admits that he has no idea if they’ll show up or not. While Carla hasn’t been snapped at the photocall, there’s still time for her to make an appearance at the premiere itself. In the meantime, here’s a look at the rest of the cast and some more on-set photos of Carla’s actressin’ skills.

Photos courtesy of WENN and Fame Pictures

I keep reading about Woody Allen directing a new film in Paris called Midnight in Paris, but the cast seems rather nonsensical to me. There’s Owen Wilson – who I believe is the “Woody” character, plus actors like Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen…and Kathy Bates? Anyway, somehow Woody talked Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, otherwise known as The First Lady of France, into taking a smaller supporting part in the film. I believe this is the first time a French First Lady worked on a film while her husband was in office. Expectations were high. And they’re just been deflated – it seems Carla can’t act her way out a paper bag. Not even in a scene without dialogue!

France’s First Lady Carla Bruni always struck us as ever-ready for her closeup, but apparently that’s not the case when it comes to acting. Some pretty hilarious reports are coming out of Paris where the stunning wife of Nicolas Sarkozy is doing a bit part as a museum curator in Woody Allen’s new film, “Midnight in Paris.”

According to London’s Mail Online website, Bruni required at least 35 takes to film a dialogue-free scene that required her to simply walk in and out of a grocery store clutching a baguette.

An onlooker quoted in the story says Bruni sacre-blew it because she was “struggling to avoid looking directly into the camera, which didn’t impress Woody Allen.” The source added: “The baguette scene could not have been simpler, but Carla wanted to make it a big one.” If she gave Allen a big headache instead, the director downplayed it. He reportedly “was very careful to show a lot of respect” to Bruni, “especially since she was surrounded by bodyguards.”

Allen was “particularly low-key” when Sarkozy himself showed up to check out his wife’s performance. According to the Mail, “he did not look particularly enthused by Carla’s acting.”

[From NYDN]

That’s hilarious. Carla has done very, very little acting, her career was always as a model and as a singer-songwriter, so I’d imagine that she wouldn’t be very “natural” trying to “act” for the camera, rather than “pose”. But 35 takes? On a scene without dialogue? Yikes. Do you think Pres. Sarkozy was like, “So, Carla, maybe just stick to singing and modeling from now on, eh?”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the infamous “Polanski petition” – of which many major American, British and French celebrities have already signed – is being circulated around the Cannes Film Festival. I suppose the petition’s instigator, Bernard-Henri Levy, hopes that the petition finds it’s way in front of someone else high-profile enough that his or her name will make the difference? Ugh. In any case, Polanski does have many defenders who are already speaking up on his behalf while they attend the Cannes Film Festival. One of those people? Woody Allen, who was involved in his own sketchy, gross scandal, although it wasn’t with an underage girl. It was with his step-daughter Soon-Yi, and she’s now his wife. Woody says that we should be over this whole Polanski thing at this point, because Polanski “did something wrong and he paid for it.” What?

Woody Allen has restated his support for fellow filmmaker Roman Polanski, who is in house arrest in connection with a 33-year-old sex scandal.

Allen said Polanski “was embarrassed by the whole thing,” “has suffered” and “has paid his dues.” He said Polanski is “an artist and is a nice person” who “did something wrong and he paid for it.”

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1978 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He was taken into custody in September and is currently under house arrest in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Earlier this week, new allegations surfaced when a British actress claimed Polanski had sexually abused her when she was 16.

It was not clear whether Allen was aware of the new allegations when he made the remarks in an interview Saturday with France Info radio from the Cannes Film Festival. Allen had previously signed a petition calling for Polanski’s release.

Allen’s relationship with actress Mia Farrow ended in scandal and New York tabloid headlines in 1992, when she found out he was having an affair with her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, then 22. Allen married Previn in 1997.

[From Huffington Post]

Apparently, Charlotte Lewis’s claims have made little to no impact on the Polanski-love felt in Cannes. Although I think it’s popular opinion that all of these people have signed the petition because they feel the same way as Woody Allen – that Polanski has already “suffered” et cetera – I really think many of them signed because they consider Polanski a genius, and that genius should be made certain behavioral allowances. That’s just my theory. Because I think the other argument, the one that Woody is making, about Polanski suffering and already paying for his crime(s) is bullsh-t.

Woody Allen came out of the courthouse $5 million richer. American Apparel began illegally using his image on billboards last year, and Woody was not happy about it, so he decided to sue. In the process of the negotiations, American Apparel tried to smear Woody’s name by bringing up his divorce from Mia Farrow, and his marriage to Soon-Yi Previn.

It seems American Apparel’s numskull attorney didn’t help much, because Woody Allen came out victorious. The $5 million will be paid by American Apparel’s insurance company.

Both sides announced the settlement – to be paid by American Apparel Inc.’s insurance company – on the morning a trial was to start in federal court in Manhattan.

Reading from a statement outside court, Allen said he hoped the outcome “would discourage American Apparel or anyone else from ever trying such a thing again.” His lawyers said the $5 million appeared to be the largest amount ever paid to settle a lawsuit brought under state privacy statutes.

American Apparel president Dov Charney told reporters it wasn’t his decision to settle. The Los Angeles-based company’s insurance company “controlled the defense” in the case, he said.

“I’m not sorry for expressing myself,” he said.

Allen, 73, sued the trendy clothing company last year for $10 million after the advertisements turned up on billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a Web site. Using a frame from the film “Annie Hall,” the ads depicted Allen as a Hasidic Jew – long beard, side curls, black hat – and featured Yiddish text meaning “the holy rebbe.”

Court papers filed on Allen’s behalf had described the actor-director as one of the most influential figures in the history of American film and said he believes maintaining strict control over his image has been critical to his success.

The papers claimed Allen hasn’t done commercials in the United States since 1960s, when he was a struggling standup comic. The billboards, he says, falsely implied he endorsed a clothing line known for its racy advertising – a “blatant misappropriation and commercial use of Allen’s image.”

[from Huffington Post]

Of course he had originally sued for $10 million, but $5 isn’t too shabby, and according to his lawyers, it’s the largest amount ever paid under state privacy issues. American Apparel was not pleased with the suit because they took the billboards down after a week.

This is one of those ridiculous situations where you just have to think, “who decided this was a good idea?” Not only did they use Woody Allen’s image, but they also used an image from Annie Hall – technically they would also have to pay royalties for that, as well (if they had done it legally, of course).

You know what I find to be the single most grating thing about reporters? They way they’re always asking questions and talking to you and stuff. It’s like, can you please keep a ten foot distance like everyone else? What’s wrong with you? I honestly don’t understand why journalists insist on all the queries. Shouldn’t they have better things to do?

So naturally my heart goes out to poor Evan Rachel Wood. She was at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday night for the screening of her Woody Allen film “Whatever Works,” when a reporter actually had the gall to come within five feet of her (presumably), and ASK A QUESTION. Where do these people get off? Evan naturally did what any well-heeled young lady would do: covered her face and angrily stomped out of the event. You go girl! Don’t you dare give in to that bitch and answer a question!

EVAN Rachel Wood plays a bubbly blonde in Woody Allen’s bum bling “Whatever Works,” which kicked off the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday — but she was neither bubbly nor a blonde at the after- party. The actress, sporting a red dye job, agreed to pose for photos, but stormed out with her hands over her face almost immediately after being asked a simple question by a reporter. Her publicist later explained that she was feeling “overcrowded.” Allen didn’t stay long either, with his rep also chalking up his early exit to his “feeling claustrophobic.”

[From Page Six]

Apparently the Tribeca Film Festival is held in a matchbox. I could see how that’d get a little uncomfortable: hundreds of people shoved in there. Sure, you could remove the matchsticks and give them a little more space, but that’d kill the ambiance. It’s funny, because I’ve wandered around the area and most of the theaters look to be a regular size. Nothing gigantic mind you, but I think you could fit at least a couple dozen people in them and only be elbowed in the eye two or three times throughout the course of the night. I wonder why in the world they chose to hold such a big event in what was clearly an empty can of baked beans, judging by Evan Rachel Wood and Woody Allen’s reactions.

Or maybe they could just calm the hell down and be gracious! That film must have been a blast to shoot with the rampant (and apparently contagious) claustrophobia hopping around. Good luck promoting your movie; I’m sure it’ll get a lot of great press.

Here’s Evan Rachel Wood at the premiere of ‘Whatever Works’ during the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival held at Ziegfeld on Wednesday. Images thanks to WENN.com .