A docuseries about Woody Allen's sexual abuse allegations is heading to HBO
TV Features Entertainment, Culture
In 2019, HBO aired Leaving Neverland, a docuseries about the men who allege they were abused by Michael Jackson as children. Now, the story of Woody Allen’s allegations of sexual abuse towards his daughter Dylan Farrow is getting its own HBO docuseries, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The four-part series directed by Academy Award-nominated documentarians Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, titled Allen V. Farrow, will take an in-depth look at the story behind the allegations, as well as delving into Allen and Mia Farrow’s custody trial and Allen’s marriage to Farrow’s adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.
According to Variety, the docuseries includes exclusive interviews with Mia Farrow, Dylan Farrow, Ronan Farrow, and Carly Simon, as well as prosecutor Frank Maco, investigators, experts, and other eyewitnesses. At this time, Allen has not commented on the docuseries. Allen V. Farrow premieres on February 21 and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Watch the trailer for it below.
92 Comments
In 1979, writes a film where a middle aged man is dating an underaged teenage girl and never explains it and instead has his friends validating it and rationalizing it. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Multiple films where a middle-aged man is dating teenaged girls.
Please list the multiple Woody Allen films where a middle-aged man is dating teenaged girls. Manhattan is already on the board
Very weird topic to try and defend, but this stuff is all throughout his work, including his most recent film: https://www.thedailybeast.com/woody-allens-creepy-obsession-with-adult-teen-romancesAnd apparently his notes are full of the same: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/i-read-decades-of-woody-allens-private-notes-hes-obsessed-with-teenage-girls/2018/01/04/f2701482-f03b-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.htmlAre you trying to be Mr. Technically correct, or defend Woody Allen’s objectively weird obsession with middle-aged dudes dating much younger women, or his own experience as a middle-aged dude dating a teenager, or…? Maybe this is an attempt to defend creepy men in general?
There’s also this: Child Molestation References in Woody Allen Movies (esquire.com) It’s from 2014 so Allen likely added a few more since then.
It’s not ‘technically correct’, it’s actually correct. Even the piece you link has only one real example of an adult-teen relationship in his films, the rest are older men and substantially younger female adults. I’ll be the first to say that this trope is very much a problem in Allen’s films, particularly in his later years, and it was very much a sign of his creative decline. But it’s another thing to say that his movies are full of pedophilia, which is a bad faith characterization.
Please list the times where I said Woody Allen’s movies are full of pedophilia.
‘Multiple films where a middle-aged man is dating teenaged girls.’
Good point. Exactly what I say whenever people downplay the idea that Bret Easton Ellis killed people.
Oh, yeah, someone writing a film about a guy dating a 17 year old girl means it’s undeniable said writer sexually abused his 6 year daughter. Sure.
Yoh mean “Manhattan” the 12th highest grossing film of the domestic box office in 1979. Do you count these audiences among those, umm, “friends”?
I don’t know about the veracity of the IRL claims against Allen, but in Manhattan Mariel Hemingway’s character was 17, which is the legal age of consent in New York.Manhattan was also an homage to French New Wave movies, which often feature weird relationship dynamics, especially between older men and younger women.
I believe Hemingway said her first kiss was with Allen in this movie, which ick, and that he did try to groom her off camera but she declined his advances.
In “The Morning Show” the Allen stand-in played by Martin Short drops a bomb to Steve Carell’s Matt Lauer stand-in that he was embroiled in a lawsuit by a woman who was 16 at the time of his.. interaction with her. He brushed it off as a targeted “gotcha” campaign and that she lied about being 18 or something.
Fair enough, but I trust Dylan and Ronan on this one.
But not the other brother. Him you don’t believe.
And it’s worth remembering that old dude/young woman relationship dynamics were actually really, really common until fairly recently, not just in movies.
Were the women in question 7 years old?
“And it’s worth remembering [bunch of apologist nonsense]”No. Just stop.
I wish you guys could realize how you sound to other people when you pop up with this “actually 17 is legal” stuff
That shit was so rampant back then (not excusing it, it was a problem.) Manhattan is hardly the only movie where a 40 year old guy hooks up with a high school age woman. I think that might have happened in every film about male midlife crisis though Allen’s certainly stands out now. And look at almost every rock album from 1965 onwards and there’s going to be one song about “girl, stay away, you’re too young and I can’t help myself.” I don’t think modern minds can even comprehend how depraved a time it was.
The societal shift on this is probably one of the most jarring shifts culturally to watch. Not just in movies, but, in real life. 30+ year old men dating college aged or fresh out of college aged women just seemed to be the cultural norm. And it’s something that has definitely been reappraised more recently. Like you said, Allen might be the most egregious of the cases because of everything about him, but it just seems like it was the norm.
Wait. You mean that in the 70s, a decade when women were legally viewed as so unequal that they were not allowed to open a line of credit without a male co-signer and couldn’t have their own credit cards that other laws also viewed them as less-than-human property of men without their own agency? But as society has evolved to recognize woman as actual human beings then laws began to follow suit?
Rachel McCartney brilliant summed all of that up.
see also, album covers ( Foreigner and ech, Scorpions)
“That shit was so rampant back then”It was not. Even in the universe of the film it was acknowledged as not being normal (not as morally wrong like it should have been, just as a kooky quirk for Allen’s loveable rapscallion of a character).
The one that always sticks out in my mind is the “joke” in Love & Death (a pretty great and hilarious movie overall) where a dying old man says “I have come to the conclusion that the best thing is … blonde 12-year-old girls. Two of them, whenever possible.”12-year-olds?! The joke is that this guy is horny in his dying moments, and Woody Allen decided that the funniest age for the girls in this joke to be was 12.
I’m not saying that that means he sexually abused his daughter many years later. But I am saying that it’s gross, and it certainly means that Woody Allen thinks “an old man wants to have a threesome with 12-year-olds” is funny and not horrifying.
This article is from 2014, so there are probably more now:Child Molestation References in Woody Allen Movies Child Molestation References in Woody Allen Movies (esquire.com)
The one that always sticks out in my mind is the “joke” in Love & Death (a pretty great and hilarious movie overall) where a dying old man says “I have come to the conclusion that the best thing is … blonde 12-year-old girls. Two of them, whenever possible.”I have no idea why this isn’t brought up more often in discussions of the allegations. It seems like if you want to establish that a man molested a seven-year-old girl, the first thing you’d want to show is evidence of him finding prepubescent girls as sexually desirable. (Which, yes, 12 is roughly the time puberty starts for girls, but it’s a hell of a lot closer to 7 than 17 is.)
Whether Allen is guilty or not I truly don’t know, but the phrase “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” is fucking idiotic and has destroyed many innocent lives.
One thing I think is funny about that expression is that one popular euphemism for lying is “blowing smoke.”
A middle aged man who dates a 17 year old is likely creepy and/or immature, but the age of consent in NY is 17, so the character was not underaged for purposes of boinking Woody’s character.
The author of “The Shining” has a lot of explaining to do.
The re-interpretation of Woody’s entire filmography as being about wish fulfillment of an older man dating hot younger women is framed by the allegations against him. And it’s frankly wrong.
In Manhattan that’s the point, the relationship doesn’t work because he is so aware of the age difference and ultimately ends up alone because of it.
Not “allegations.” One letter too many. But with the lineup of people participating, I’m looking forward to a very evenhanded discussion.
Nice
I wary about docu-series like these because the involvement of one side of the case also leaves the door open for the favored side argument against the merits of the presentation (I guess I would prefer something that relies on archival footage).But, itll be interesting to see if anything really new or mind changing will be brought from this.It seems like for the most part people either fall into the “she was coached to help the divorce” or “woody did it” camps and no one is going to really move.As far as the Soon-Yi if it all, it’s been interesting watching in my lifetime seeing the culture shift on age appropriate nature of dating. It seems like my generation and younger has totally turned against large age gaps whereas it was pretty wildly accepted up to like 2000. I mean, it’s in the Bible, it didn’t really seem to bother people.
if anything really new or mind changing will be brought from thisIf it is, it would be first thing to do so since the early 90s. And that includes the daughter writing about it herself.
All sorts of crazy stuff is in the Bible. Polygamy was even accepted in the Old Testament, whereas monogamy became the norm after the Romans.
Ohh most definitely.I was thinking more specifically in this context, Jospeh and Mary.Who would have been like a 35-40 year old man if not more and a she a teen, maybe barely post pubescent. The shift in age appropriateness has moved more in the last 60 years then maybe most of human history.
Maybe that has something to do with men being the ones who had authority over these judgments throughout history
I don’t think I ever gave much thought to how old Joseph was.
I used to be into the whole “real” history of the Bible stuff and putting things together from multiple texts.So it’s one of those things that sits in the back of my head waiting to get used.He had kids prior to Mary. Mary was his second wife. Mary, if a Virgin, meant that the marriage Happened when she was young since she would have been betrothed/given to someone else if Joseph wasn’t available.Ergo, he was older and she was younger .
I hadn’t heard anything about him having prior kids or Mary being his second wife. He was apparently dead while Mary was still alive by the time of the later events in the Gospels, so being older is plausible.
Just so you know, this bullshit that commenter is spewing is purely fabricated to justify the behavior of shitty men. It was used to defend Roy Moore’s solicitation of underaged girls, for example. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible indicating the ages of Mary or Joseph. Nothing. There is nothing in the Bible indicating Joseph had been previously married. Nothing.The typical ages for marriage in those times was, for both the bride and the groom, late teens to early 20s. Just like today (and through all of human history), marriages were typically between people around the same age and any marriage that fell outside of that would have been unusual and notable.
*coughbullshitcough*
I don’t know. I’m an older person, and I remember being in college and a 30 year old guy being interested, and me being like YEACH, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT GUY. And that was probably 1995. And I recall my mom describing my grandfather who was a decade older than my grandmother as having groomed her (he was her teacher in HS, they married when she graduated). That was something she said in the 1980s. She didn’t use the word groom, but it was the same basic principal. I think people now tend to be generous about the past, assuming lechery in the past was more socially acceptable than it actually was. More people got away with it in the past, but I think people knew it was grotesque.
There’s even rules on selling daughters into slavery, and when it’s right to give them freedom, in the Old Testament.Exodus 21:7-11 7“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. 8 If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. 9 But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.10 “If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy. 11 If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.Safe to say, things were a little different back then.This is totally the best book ever to use as a moral compass. Makes perfect sense to me.
Yeah these types of docs are murky because they’re bad journalism even if they’re presenting accurate information.
Carly Simon? He probably thought that song was about him.
So who’s going to play the Woody stand-in role? I vote for the return of Jason Biggs.
He’s not ugly enough… at least, last time I saw him. Paul Giamatti is the right age and level of attractiveness. Edit: Nothing against Giamatti. He’s a great actor.
Paul Giamatti is the same age as Vin Diesel. I don’t have anything else to add I just like bringing it up.
Biggs actually did a pretty good job as Allen stand-in. Kenneth Branagh as well in Celebrity. Too bad both were wasted in awful films.
Serious question: First of all, I believe Dylan and Mia Farrow. But I’ve always wondered, between this, and Allen’s recurring themes in his films of the old man dating the young, even underage woman, it has struck me as odd there haven’t been more accusations. Of course, I know absence isn’t evidence. What I’m wondering is, have there been any others that have come forward, that maybe I’ve just not heard about? I hope there aren’t more victims, but if there are, I hope this doc gets them to come forward.
His films often depict young, but not underage, women in relationships with older men. You brought up the example of Mariel Hemingway in this very thread.
Hopefully there aren’t more victims. But if there are, and they’ve watched him just keep on keeping on after molesting one stepdaughter and marrying another, it’s hard to imagine what could be more discouraging to them.
I think we can definitely count Soon-Yi as a victim. And Mariel Hemingway. And Allen’s first wife, Harlene Rosen, who was 17 when they married (he was 21).
Soon-Yi is hard for me to figure out, but then, abuse can be so complex. It seems obvious she was groomed in the beginning but the waters get so muddied their relationship now by all appearances (emphasis on appear) is a consensual one. But still the whole affair is sickening. His career should’ve been over then, but you know, white man in Hollywood.
I mean, groomed is groomed. Whatever their relationship is like now, it doesn’t make what he did to her when she was underage any more despicable.
Would you also consider the marriages of people like Warren Jeffs “consensual” if they lasted x amount of time? Abuse is not magically okay if the abused feel locked into the situation (because of grooming or threats or whatever form of coercion is used to get them to a place of isolation and disenfranchisement) and have no place else to go.
Vulnerable people are not fair game for abuse. As a society, we have to get much better about this. We’re moving in the right direction and I have faith that we will keep getting better.
It’s a fair point for which I don’t have an answer. I mean, I sure hope Soon-Yi has some agency in the relationship, but from what I’ve read about her life, that is questionable. Certainly Allen’s courting of her, continued relationship with her, is at best, deeply ethically dubious given her vulnerability. At worst…criminal.
“Courting”? Really?
It’s complicated by the fact that Mia was abusive in other ways.
1) I hope they interview Moses Farrow https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/11/moses-farrow-id-be-very-happy-to-take-my-fathers-surname2) the v. should be lower case
Moses Farrow really has a different perspective on this case.
The list of people involved looks pretty one-sided so, it’s doubtful.
Oh god I hope so, too! Would be great if his bullshit faced some journalistic scrutiny. Maybe then Allen’s fanboys will quit bringing up Moses’ lame blog.
There’s a difference between being a sleazy older man who wants to have consensual sex with much younger girls and raping your 8 year old daughter.
Mia Farrow was 21 when she married Frank Sinatra who was 51 at the time.
Your second sentence has nothing to do with your first. And your first is wrong.
If you don’t know the difference between consent and rape, you have a problem.
Consent with underage girls doesn’t exist, bub
He didn’t say underage, bub. He even gave a 21/51 example in his next sentence.
Then I guess that has nothing to do with the topic of this post huh
Saying that because Woody Allen dates consenting younger women in his movies and in real life doesn’t mean he likes to rape underage girls, has nothing to do with the topic of this post? Really? Could’ve fooled me.
Seeing that this post is about him raping an underage girl and not dating younger women consensually, yah
This post is stating that because someone who is a creep who dates way too young but legally able to consent women doesn’t mean he is de facto a rapist.But it SURE don’t look good either. The Mia Farrow line is to state that she had no problem being with a man three decades older than her, but I agree with you in that it’s not part of this discussion.
You’re trying to argue that 8 year old Dylan consented to being molested by her father? wtf dude
No I do not. Read the thread for context.
If my first sentence is wrong then you are saying that any man who lusts after a younger woman of consensual age is really looking to have sex with a child.
So you are basically justifying the second sentence which I used to highlight the ridiculous notion I outlined in the first place.
Boy you guys get so nervous when men get taken to task for being creeps
Some of the responses are odd. People seem shocked that dudes in the 70s (and 80s and 90s and now) mess around with underage girls. It’s like I hate to break it to you, but name a musician/actor/filmmaker/etc. from that era and the odds are very good he was engaged in this kind of thing. We get so selectively shocked by things that no one batted an eyelash about back then.Even women from my generation (coming of age in the 90s), almost to a one, has a story about “dating” a much older guy when they were teenagers. Does anyone remember high school? There would always be dudes who graduated driving to school to pick up their “girlfriends.”This isn’t the same as the type of abuse Woody Allen is (“allegedly”, lol) guilty of. But people seem to have difficulty realizing that norms change over time, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s for everyone’s benefit. Like people demanding outrage that Seinfeld dated a 17yo in the 90s. If no one cared then, what’s the point of caring now? Unless there are abuse/rape allegations from the woman, then what is the end goal of litigating all this in the court of public opinion? Everyone knows that behavior is unacceptable now. If it were acceptable then, what do we gain from this retroactive outrage?I guess I just don’t have the cognitive dissonance that some people do. I have no problem with Woody Allen being cancelled and burning in hell if all this is true. While also really, really enjoying much of his work. Oh, well.
Wow I wonder what conclusion this documentary is going to make[Seriously, I wish someone without an axe to grind against Allen or Farrow would do a documentary on this…]
Wow, are you in luck because Academy Award-nominated documentarians Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering have done a four-part series titled Allen V. Farrow, and it will take an in-depth look at the story behind the allegations, as well as delving into Allen and Mia Farrow’s custody trial and Allen’s marriage to Farrow’s adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Here’s the trailer:
[Seriously, I wish someone without an axe to grind against Allen or Farrow would do a documentary on this…]Even if it were possible to find an impartial filmmaker or journalist willing to take on such an emotionally-charged case, odds are by the end of the project they would no longer be impartial. And even if by some miracle they remained impartial, whatever conclusion the documentary drew would cause everyone to lump it in with “that side”.
Honestly taking a side would be fine, so long as it was a fresh look at the case. This is just Ronan Farrow rehashing old material
I wonder if the public can still accept a docuseries that doesn’t have any endangered animals or guys who look like Elton John from Alabama.
I’m not usually the kind of person to watch these sorts of docs but honestly I might watch this just because the Woody Allen allegations are so complicated and difficult to wrap my head around. (For the record, I think this is the reason that his career has marched onward without much recourse)
They’re actually not complicated, but Allen was able to use his money and influence to muddy the waters for decades. He used the same lawyers and PR firm as Weinstein did to keep DAs bribed and witnesses muffled, btw: Elkan Abramowitz and Leslee Dart. That whole sleazy lawyer/PR machine got very rich keeping really awful people from ever seeing Justice. Would love to see a docuseries about them.
It’s a shame but i think Mia’s involvement sullied the whole thing for a long time. I remember when she slammed ScarJo for not speaking out about Dylan’s abuse. As if it’s totally reasonable to expect Scarlett to make definitive accusations against her former boss, or to be the mouthpiece for someone else’s trauma. Stuff like that made people hold Dylan’s side at arms length.
Yay! I’m so glad Allen has lived long enough to see his legacy turn to ash. I hope he chokes on it daily! I hope his gross fanboys choke on it, too!
Very interested in hearing from the DA, Frank Maco. Looking forward to this.