Woody Allen Self-Releases the Trailer for A Rainy Day in New York — Which Amazon Won't Open
Woody Allen has taken matters into his own hands and self-released the trailer for his film A Rainy Day in New York after Amazon decided to cut ties with the director.
The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Jude Law, Liev Schreiber, Diego Luna and Suki Waterhouse, and follows the story of a young couple played by Chalamet and Fanning who travel to New York City for a weekend only to be met with bad weather and a series of adventures.
A Rainy Day in New York was originally set for release in 2018 but Amazon shelved the film in the wake of resurfaced allegations of sexual misconduct against Allen, 83, by his daughter, Dylan Farrow.
Allen has repeatedly denied Farrow’s allegations.
In February, the Annie Hall director sued Amazon for $68 million claiming the streaming giant “backed out of” four movie deals, including the release for A Rainy Day in New York, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Allen claimed he was initially told by Amazon’s general counsel Ajay Patel in January 2018 that A Rainy Day in New York, the first of the four films, would be pushed back a year — but by June 2018, Patel terminated the director’s film contract with no further explanation, according to the lawsuit.
RELATED: Woody Allen Sues Amazon for $68 Million for Backing Out of Movie Deal
Allen alleged he and his production company, Gravier Productions, pressed Amazon for further information and were told that it was due to “supervening events, including renewed allegations against Mr. Allen, his own controversial comments, and the increasing refusal of top talent to work with or be associated with him in any way, all of which have frustrated the purpose of the Agreement.”
In April, Amazon defended its decision to part ways with Allen in response to his breach of contract lawsuit claiming the director “sabotag[ed]” efforts to promote his films by repeatedly weighing in on the #MeToo movement and the allegations of sexual abuse put forth by Farrow.
RELATED: Amazon Defends Cutting Ties with Woody Allen: He ‘Sabotaged’ Our Efforts to Promote His Films
Amazon and Allen signed a four-film agreement in August 2017, just months before Allen’s son Ronan Farrow published an article in the New Yorker exposing allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein.
In legal documents filed in New York, Amazon cited that article as a “catalyst for a broad public reckoning” regarding the tolerance of sexual harassment in Hollywood.
While the film was canceled for release by Amazon Studios, it’ll hit theaters in France on Sept. 18.
