Diane Keaton said that she is "proud beyond measure" of her collaborations with Woody Allen.
The pair have worked together in a string of films such as "Play It Again Sam" (1972), "Sleeper" (1973), "Love and Death" (1975), "Annie Hall" (1977), "Manhattan" (1979), "Radio Days" (1987), and "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993).
Allen has received 16 Oscar nominations for best screenplay and has won four Academy Awards, including one for best director for "Annie Hall," according to Deadline. Despite this, he has been blacklisted in recent years due to allegations made by his former partner Mia Farrow that he had molested their daughter Dylan.
Allen has consistently denied the allegations, but his name was further tarnished by his controversial marriage to Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi. Despite the controversy surrounding his name, Keaton defended her work with Allen in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Her remarks came in response to a question about whether she felt the allegations against Allen "or his other controversies" had "overshadowed the work [they] did together."
"No, not at all," Keaton replied. "No. I'm proud. I'm proud beyond measure."
Asked which performance from her decadeslong career stood out the most, Keaton said it was 1972's "Play It Again, Sam."
"The first Woody Allen movie," she replied. "That's it. I was in it, I had lines. I was just totally surprised by that."
During the interview, Keaton was also asked whether her collaborations with artists such as Allen, Nancy Meyers, and Goldie Hawn were down to a "love-at-first-sight" feeling.
"No, it's anxiety," she said. "You're worried. If it's the director or somebody who you're acting with who's amazing, it's worrying. 'How will this match that …? Can I do …? What am I …? Oh, dear.' You just worry quite a bit until it gets easier.
"I'm sure that most everybody has felt that way. With Goldie and Bette [Midler], on that one particular movie ['The First Wives Club'], that was interesting, and I remember feeling always kind of anxious and a little worried on that one.
Allen meanwhile has announced his plans to retire from filmmaking, saying during an interview with a Spanish newspaper that his film, "Wasp 22," will be his last.
"My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing," Allen told La Vanguardia explaining that his next project will likely be a novel.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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