Woody Allen's autobiography, Apropros of Nothing, is full of pithy bon mots, good humor, and unfailing generosity toward the actors and other professionals he has worked with.
His self-deprecating humor is natural to him, a gift that yields spontaneous one-liners on every other page.
His tips on courtship are valuable. A brilliant French meal prepared by the suitor (blanquette de veau with clafoutis for dessert) works so well that it is "an express ride to the boudoir to work off some of the calories in the sack."
Lots of juice, lots of dish, lots of inside baseball, and the personality of the genius rises to the occasion,
His true ambition: "If I could trade my talent for any other person's, living or dead, who would it be? No contest - Bud Powell."
"Nothing in the The Wasteland or Pound or Auden moves me as much as Cole Porter's 'You're not worth the ransom of asparagus out of season.'"
"I'm eighty-four; my life is almost half over. Not believing in a hereafter, I really can't see any practical difference if people remember me as a film director or an amateur clarinetist or at all. All that I ask is my ashes be scattered close to a pharmacy."
On posterity: "Rather than live on in the hearts and mind of the public, I prefer to live on in my apartment."
-- DL
Am reading and appreciating immensely...many chuckles! It's important to note that he makes a clear and necessary case in his defense re molestation charge. The book is a fun read up to that point, but as I noted, necessary.
Posted by: Joanna migdal | September 02, 2020 at 09:44 AM