BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) OLD SCHOOL WRITER
After school not working so well for Woody, he ended up becoming a full time writer for Herb Shriner making 75 bucks a week. By the time he was 19 he was already writing for Ed Sullivan, The Tonight show, Sid Caesar, and other TV shows. He worked a lot and worked great. By the time he was on the Sid Caesar level he was making $1500 a week, which was obviously a lot at the time. After writing for everyone else for so long he ventured out and did his own stand up act, but ultimately writing is what paid his bills early on. During this era he worked with some of the best comedic figures of all time. This obviously wore off on him.
(THREE) LAZY-LOYAL CASTING
If you get on Woody’s good side you’re set for a few movies. One thing that’s cool about Woody is that he’s loyal to his actors and actresses. He has worked with the same people on multiple projects his entire career, sometimes for up to a span of years. He has worked with Diane Keaton over a half dozen times, Diane Wiest four, Danny Aiello four, Judy Davis four, Mia Farrow nine, and recently Scarlett Johansson three times. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. I won’t even get into the crew repeats.
(TWO) MUSIC MAN
Woody rocks a mean jazz clarinet. He got into it as a teenager and never stopped. If you’ve seen any of his movies you’d know just how much jazz he uses. A lot of times he’s part of the band that scores his movies. In the early 70’s he was even on TV performing on a talk show. He and his group play very often and have even done some festivals.
(ONE) CONSISTENCY
Since Woody Allen broke in to filmmaking in the mid 60s he hasn’t taken a break. The man is consistent and has put out a new movie every year like clockwork. Sure there are some years the timing works out to be a two movie year and the next has none, but it averages out pretty damn close. That kind of consistency and constant need for creating is very inspirational and admirable. The man has definitely had his share of controversy and personal life stuff to deal with, but in the end he is ultimately an artist.
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