What reason would a for-profit company have to shelve a feature film starring Timothée Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Rebecca Hall, Jude Law, and Elle Fanning...aside from the fact that the director is Woody Allen, long-accused of having sexually abused his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow (but not the one he married)? While Amazon Studios isn't saying as much, they have nonetheless decided not to release A Rainy Day in New York, Allen's latest film which they reportedly bought for $25 million.
Page Six reports that the film "may never be released," noting it was slated to come out this year. However, they note that Amazon is now saying, "No release date has ever been set for the film."
As The Cut points out, "filming wrapped last fall, before the post-Weinstein reckoning refocused the public’s attention on Allen’s alleged history of abuse."
That was followed with the stars of the film speaking out. Chalamet even declared: "I don’t want to profit from my work on the film, and to that end, I am going to donate my entire salary to three charities: Time's Up, the LGBT Center in New York and RAINN." Hall, who previously starred in Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, donated her salary to Time’s Up.
The movie, by the way, reportedly contains scenes depicting a 44-year-old man (played by Jude Law) having sex with an underaged girl, a 15-year-old played by Ellie Fanning.
Allen entered a deal with Amazon Studios via former head Roy Price, who resigned last October after being accused of sexual harassment by a producer. As The Atlantic noted earlier this year, Allen is "still on the hook for three more films" (if they don't sever the deal). According to his IMDB, there is one untitled project in the works for 2020, although Page Six reported Allen has yet to secure financing for that project.
We've reached out to Amazon Studios for further comment, and will update if we hear back.
