Looking back over the last decade, few filmmakers have been
as busy as 75-year-old Woody Allen. In fact, he’s directed at least one movie
every year since 1981. But a quick glance at his filmography will show you that
the majority of his most beloved pictures come from the last century. His
post-2000 career has been less than stellar, and this is coming from a huge
Allen admirer. Trust me, you’re not going to find a bigger fan of Crimes and
Misdemeanors, Manhattan, or Hannah and Her Sisters. But I’ll be the first to
admit that he’s been off recently (Cassandra’s Dream, anyone?).
His latest, Midnight in Paris, however, has been a big
success on every level. Critics have gone wild (Paris currently sits at 92%
on RottenTomatoes.com.), and audiences are flocking to art-house theaters to
catch the film. In its opening weekend, Paris earned just under $600,000 in
only six theaters, for the biggest per-theater average of 2011 and one of the
largest of Allen’s career. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down. In its
second weekend, it came in at number seven on the box office charts, earning
$2.6 million on just 58 screens!
