Woody Allen’s new film A Rainy Day in New York shelved by Amazon

[News]

Amazon Studios has indefinitely shelved the latest film from Woody Allen, A Rainy Day in New York.

Originally expected to be released later this year, the movie is part of a five-picture deal Amazon struck up with Allen back in 2016. The first film from the partnership, Wonder Wheel, struggled to find cinemas willing to distribute it and flopped at the box office upon its release last winter. A Rainy Day in New York cost the studio a reported $25 million.

“No release date has ever been set for the film,” the studio told Page Six.

The move to keep A Rainy Day in New York on the shelf comes as Allen faces renewed scrutiny in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. Accusations that the writer/director had sexually assaulted his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow have been in the public discourse for years. Farrow herself spoke openly about the abuse in 2014 and again following the rise of #MeToo.

Many of the stars of A Rainy Day in New York have taken action to distance themselves from the film and Allen. Rebecca Hall (who also starred in Vicky Christina Barcelona) donated her salary to the Time’s Up anti-harassment fund. Griffin Newman sent his salary to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), and dubbed himself a “coward” for not quitting the movie in the first place. Timothée Chalame split his earnings from the film between Time’s Up, the LGBT Centre in New York, and RAINN. The film also stars Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, and Jude Law, and reportedly features a sexual relationship between a 44-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl.

Amazon is also reportedly attempting to pay its way out of the multi-picture deal it has with Allen. If it can’t, the studio is contractually obligated to release A Rainy Day at some point.

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