Back in 1998, Allen cast the future two-term president as himself in Celebrity, an underrated gem where Kenneth Branagh plays a celebrity journalist pulled into the heart of that world and all the lunacy that goes with it.
Celebrity is buried in cameos and stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, and Charlize Theron, who make fun of their own personas. As you will see below, Trump was more than game to do the same:
“Well, I’m working on buying St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Maybe doing a little rip-down job and putting up a very, very tall and beautiful building.”
Near the end of Maher’s 90-minute Club Random interview, and after discussing the appalling blacklisting this genius has faced over a crime he did not commit, a crime that did not happen, a crime where two separate state investigations declared him innocent, Maher pointed out (accurately) that it was primarily the political left that annihilated Allen’s career.
For his part, and for a guy who doesn’t do many interviews, the 89-year-old handled himself brilliantly. He said he didn’t care about getting cancelled because he had already made about 50 movies and had more than enough money to live comfortably. About those who had worked with him and then stabbed him in the back, disavowing him, Allen was beyond gracious. He basically said, They think they are doing good and don’t know they are wrong.
Maher was less gracious towards them, ripping them (accurately) as cowards and opportunists.
Allen then explained that he was not opposed to the #MeToo movement, which he separates from cancel culture.
“There’s a difference between the #MeToo movement and cancel culture,” he said. “The #MeToo movement, for whatever value it had in terms of advancing women’s rights, is a valuable thing. Cancel culture is a totally different phenomenon … a pernicious thing. It’s quite a bad thing.”
“If you’re going to be canceled by a culture,” he added. “This is the culture to be canceled by. This is not a culture to be proud of.”
“The #MeToo movement may have helped women in many ways,” he continued, “and that’s to the good. But the concept of canceling people is not a good thing in any area … in terms of politics, the McCarthy era… cancellation is just not a way to deal with issues. It doesn’t serve any purpose.”
Maher then brought up Trump. “And all of this has not turned you into Trumper,” he said.
“No, I’m not a Trumper,” Woody replied. “I am one of the few people who can say he directed Trump.”
Woody went on to praise the most-hated man in his professional and social circle: “He was a pleasure to work with and a very good actor. He was very polite, hit his mark, did everything correctly, and had a real flair for show business. I could direct him now. If he would let me direct him now that he’s president, I think I could do wonders.”
“He was very easy to work with,” Allen added, but then explained, “I’m a Democrat, I voted for Kamala Harris, and I take issue with [Trump] on 95 percent of his [policies], maybe 99 percent. But as an actor, he was very good. He was very convincing. He has a charismatic quality as an actor, and I’m surprised he wanted to go into politics.”
The whole interview is worth a watch. Maher interrupts too much, but for Woody Allen fans like myself, it is heartening to see that the 89-year-old is still sharp and seemingly at peace, despite all the obscene lies and persecution he’s faced over the last five years.
And Maher is absolutely correct about Allen’s 2020 memoir. It’s brilliant and brilliantly funny.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Allen has any movies in the pipeline, but he says he’s written a play that’s being staged in Europe and has a novel coming out later this month.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
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