Woody Allen announces retirement from filmmaking, says ‘Wasp 22’ will be his last directorial

The director has said that he intends to spend more time in writing during his twilight years

Multiple Academy Award-winning Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen has announced his retirement from filmmaking.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, Allen said that his upcoming film Wasp 22, which is set to begin production in fall in Europe, will be his last directorial and that he intends to spend more time in writing during his twilight years.

Wasp 22 is Allen’s 50th film and the French-language film is set in Paris. Allen described the film as akin to Match Point and that it would be “exciting, dramatic, and also very sinister.”

In recent years, Allen has been in the news for the sexual abuse allegations that were made by his former partner Mia Farrow that he sexually abused their child. Allen has denied these claims but was blacklisted by many, and his support in the US declined. This is another reason why Allen has opted to shoot his recent films entirely in Europe.

His previous film, Rifkin’s Festival starred Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel and Gina Gershon, and was shot in and around the town of San Sebastian and was released on limited screens in the U.S. The film was released by MPI Media Group after Amazon Studios revoked their $80 million dollar distribution deal with Allen in 2019.

Allen’s 2019 film A Rainy Day in New York was shelved by Amazon in 2018 after the resurgence of the sexual abuse allegations during the Me Too movement. Amazon even accused Allen of “sabotaging” the film’s festival through his comments on the allegations. Allen sued Amazon for $68 million, however, the parties settled the dispute amicably.

Allen has been nominated for the Best Screenplay Academy Award a record 16 times. He has won four Academy Awards, two for Annie Hall (1977), one for Hannah and Her Sisters (1987), and one for Midnight In Paris (2012).