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In Madrid to present two of his actors, Alexi Wasser and Peter Vives, Woody Allen, 90, revealed some details about his upcoming plans to shoot in the Spanish capital for the first time.
“Madrid is a very elegant and
beautiful city and perfect for the kind of atmosphere that I wanted for the story,” said Allen who disclosed that his new film would have a diplomatic setting.
“It’s a comedy with a romance, with intrigue, with infidelity and all the ingredients that I always think it is going to make a great story. I think I have all the ingredients for a very good movie, but that remains to be seen. Now comes the hard part. I’ve got to make the movie and put it together, and it has to live up to my expectations. That doesn’t mean that it will, but I’ll do my best,” he said.
Slated to shoot from Oct. 5 in Madrid, the still-untitled project is being backed by millions in public funding on the condition that it showcases the Spanish capital on screen.
The Madrid City Council also announced in December that “at least 15% of the film’s scenes will be shot in exteriors, making the city easily recognizable, showing its cultural, architectural and historical facets.”
Provisionally titled “Woody Allen Fall Project 2026” — the film is produced by veteran Spanish production-distribution outfit Wanda Vision, Allen’s New York-based Gravier Productions and Puerto Rico-based 3SIX9 Studios. WestEnd Films has recently boarded as its world sales agent.
Wanda Vision’s Miguel Morales, Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida and Madrid Community President Isabel Diaz Ayuso were also present at the press conference, signaling the importance of this project to the capital.
Morales, the first to speak, revealed that principal photography would take place in around 30 locations in Madrid and Aranjuez for six weeks.
His conversations with Allen began in Venice and Berlin about shooting in the Basque Country and the Canary Islands for their stronger tax incentives but it was Allen who said he really wanted to shoot in Madrid.
“We have a wonderful, predominantly Spanish technical crew, with master cinematographer José Luis Alcaine, Adam Baines as production designer, Sonia Grande as costume designer, Daniela Ford as first assistant director, Teddy Villalba as production manager, and more than 370 Spanish technicians who will participate at some point in the filming and post-production of the film, all of which will take place entirely in Madrid, with the exception of the editing,” he said.
Aside from Vives, he said that the film would include some 50 Spanish actors, including some immigrant background actors.
Addressing Allen, Mayor Martinez-Almeida said: “Thank you for wanting to make your film in the city of Madrid and also in such a wonderful city as Aranjuez, which we must not forget is a World Heritage Site.”
Said Ayuso: “We are especially pleased that the man who has transported the magic of the streets of New York and their peculiarities to the rest of the world will now do the same with this city and this region. He said in an interview that the light, atmosphere and streets of Madrid weighed more heavily than other benefits when choosing where and when to shoot his new film.”
Asked about his choice of music for his film, Allen said: “I like to use music that that is local and appropriate and relevant to Madrid, revealing that the very first time he came to Madrid was to play jazz.
Barcelona-born Vives is likely best known for his role in drama series set in the world of fashion, “Velvet” and his role as Angel in “The Cheetah Girls 2.”
Asked about his role, Vives could only say: “I play a diplomat and actually the main character is my wife in the movie. So obviously, as Mr. Allen has said, there’s a lot of ingredients to add into this small cocktail, and there’s not much more we can say.”
Wasser, whose credits include HBO Max’s hit show “Girls,“ and “A Ghost Story” by David Lowery, revealed that she had already given up on acting when the call from Allen’s casting agent came. “After fainting, I auditioned and when I got the part, I fainted again,” she laughed.
“I can’t stop staring at Mr. Woody Allen because I’m a super fan. You know, I love this man. This is my favorite filmmaker in the world. So, I feel like my preparation has been my entire life of being introduced to his films.”
Wasser and Vives join Marton Csokas (“The Lord of the Rings”), Jemima Kirke (“Girls”) and Jakob Oftebro (“Hamilton”).
Asked his opinion on the housing crisis and the protests in Madrid, Allen demurred. “I’ve never been political so I don’t have opinions on socio-political matters. I don’t have deeper insights than the average person.”
“When I was younger, I was a lot more conventional, dedicated and as I got older, I got lazier and used mostly long shots. So over the years, it evolved into a style of more long shots, which my actors were grateful for as it didn’t require repeating scenes for close-ups.“
Addressing a question on whether he was going to retire, given his advanced years, he said: “I chose not to retire although it is grueling to make films because it’s hard work. You make a movie and they put it on television so quickly. It used to be you make a movie, you put it in the cinema and it lasts in the cinema for a month or a year. And it had a different dynamic to its presentation. So I’m not as enthused about making a movie but the idea of making this story in Madrid, I couldn’t turn down. It was too exciting for me.”
