It's funny/sad that when eyes are on Hollywood like never before due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which has grown to include James Toback and others, certain figures seem to be courting controversy like never before. And they aren't just doing it by saying stupid things in the media, they're doing it on screen. Louis C.K.'s new film, I Love You, Daddy, deals directly with the issue of sexual predators within the industry, and I guarantee you that one's going to have a tough time when it finally opens. And now Woody Allen, probably the last person who should be weighing into this subject, may be jumping into it with both feet.
According to Page Six, so take this with a grain of salt, Allen's next film has a sticky relationship between a much older man and a teenage girl. Here's how they put it:
In scenes just filmed, a character played by Rebecca Hall accuses 44-year-old actor Jude Law’s character of having sex with a 15-year-old “concubine.” In the scene, the so-called concubine — played by Elle Fanning (19 in real life) — acknowledges her relationship with Law’s much-older character, but then protests that she is 21 years old. After a discussion about his infidelity, Fanning’s character then asks Law, “Were all these women for pleasure, or were you researching a project?”
Granted, this idea is hardly uncommon in Woody Allen movies, but that's not the point. It's about timing and optics, and for Allen in particular to put out a movie like this just seems like a really bad idea. That said, this film won't be out until next year during awards season, so maybe the controversy will have died down. But this is Woody Allen, so probably not.
