Woody Allen says he’s ‘always willing’ to meet estranged daughter Dylan Farrow and again DENIES her abuse claims – as he decries cancel culture in the US following rapturous reception in Venice for his new movie

Woody Allen has said he is “always willing” to meet his estranged daughter Dylan, while again denying her claims that he sexually assaulted her.

Allen, 87, was in Venice, Italy, Monday night for the premiere of his 50th film, Coup de Chance.

It is unlikely that the film will be shown in the US after Hollywood cut ties with him over his daughter’s accusations.

But in Europe he is still at work, and on Monday night he received a three-minute standing ovation for his new French-language film.

The reception was not universal, as a group of demonstrators expressed their anger at Allen’s presence in Venice, marching past and chanting in Italian, “We are the loud and fierce cry of all bodies that have lost their voice.”

Before the premiere, Allen told a press conference that he felt he had had a very happy life and was lucky to be healthy and able to continue making films.

But, talk to VarietyThe experienced director became ‘gloomy’, the journalist reported when asked about the allegations of his now 38-year-old daughter.

Dylan Farrow alleges that Allen touched her inappropriately in August 1992 when she was seven.

She said he molested her in an attic of the Connecticut home where she lived with her mother Mia Farrow and siblings, touching her while she was playing with a toy train.

The allegations were investigated and no charges were ever brought.

In 2014, the story surfaced again when Dylan Farrow spoke with New York Times columnist Nick Kristof.

Ronan Farrow, Dylan’s journalist brother, wrote about it in 2016, condemning Hollywood for continuing to work with their father. However, their brother Moses Farrow has consistently defended their father, accusing Mia Farrow of coaching Dylan to frame Woody, out of anger over their divorce.

In 2018, Dylan Farrow spoke to CBS News and Woody Allen began to pay a professional price for the allegations.

He has always denied abusing her, and on Monday he repeated his denial.

When asked about his reaction to the HBO documentary Allen v Farrow, which aired in February 2021, Allen told Variety: ‘My reaction has always been the same.

“The situation has been investigated by two people, two large agencies, not people, but two large investigative agencies. And both of them, after much detailed investigation, came to the conclusion that these allegations had no merit, which is, you know, exactly as I wrote in my book ‘Apropos of Nothing’. There was nothing wrong.

“The fact that it sticks always makes me think that people might be happy with the idea of ​​it sticking. You know, maybe there’s something attractive to people. But why? Why? I don’t know what you can do except have it examined, which they have done so painstakingly. One was less than a year and the other was many months. And they talked to everyone involved and both came to exactly the same conclusion.’

Allen said he hadn’t seen Dylan and Ronan Farrow in years, but wouldn’t say no to meeting them.

“Always ready, but no, no…” he said.

Dylan’s allegations have divided Hollywood: actors such as Kate Winslet, Greta Gerwig, Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Hall, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman and Mira Sorvino have all said they regret working with him.

Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett – who won her Oscar in 2014 for the Allen-directed Blue Jasmine – all stood by him. Blanchett said she disagreed with social media being “judge and jury,” but said if there was a case for reopening the investigations, she would support it.

Allen filed a $68 million lawsuit against Amazon Studios in 2019 after they pulled out of a deal to distribute his film A Rainy Day In New York: the case was settled out of court.

His last film, Rifkin’s Festival, was only shown in 25 cinemas in the United States.

But Allen shrugged off the idea of ​​”cancelled,” calling the concept “stupid.”

“I feel like if you get canceled, it’s the culture that needs to get canceled,” he told Variety.

‘I think it’s all so stupid. I don’t think about it. I don’t know what it means to be cancelled. I know that over the years everything has been the same for me. I make my movies.

‘What has changed is the presentation of the films. You know, I work and for me it’s the same routine. I’ll write the script, raise the money, make the movie, shoot it, edit it, and it’ll come out. The difference is not in the cancellation culture. The difference is in the way they present the films. That’s the big change.’

Allen also said some of the effects of the #MeToo movement were “stupid.”

“I think any movement that actually benefits, where it does something positive, for example for women, is a good thing,” he said.

“If it gets silly, it’s silly. I’ve read examples where it was very helpful, where the situation was very favorable for women, and that’s good.

“If I read some examples in a newspaper article where it’s silly, then it’s silly.”

When asked what he meant by “foolish,” Allen replied, “It’s silly, you know, if it’s not really a feminist issue or an issue of unfairness to women.” If it’s too extreme to make a big deal out of it, when in fact most people wouldn’t consider it an offensive situation.’

Allen has previously suggested that Coup de Chance could be his last film.

On Monday, however, he said he had a great idea for a story set in his native New York and would make it if he could find a backer willing to accept his terms — not to read or know the script. whom he had cast.

“If some fool agrees, I’ll make the movie in New York,” he said.