I was reading Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs this weekend, and he mentions that Woody Allen was enormously influential in the whole nerd chic thing that made intellectual eccentricity attractive. I’m inclined to agree. Maybe his characters are neurotic and scrawny and, well, weird, but there’s something magnetic about them.
But, in spite of doing so much to raise the status of this character type, Woody’s a very, very private dude: few interviews and even fewer public appearances. That’s been a huge bummer thus far, since he’s made some enormously influential and fantastic comedy films, like Annie Hall and Manhattan. And I’m sure we would all love – maybe even lurve – to learn a little more about the guy.
Thankfully, we’ll soon be able to catch a glimpse into the life of the filmmaker. PBS’s “American Masters” series will offer a two-part documentary currently titled Seriously Funny – the Comic Art of Woody Allen airing Nov. 20 and 21. Expect lots of old-school clips from his most acclaimed work to little-seen stand-up comedy performances. So, if you’re a comedy nerd of any kind, set your DVR now.
