{"id":5340,"date":"2025-11-28T14:45:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T14:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=5340"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:38:56","slug":"barbra-paskins-letter-from-hollywood-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=5340","title":{"rendered":"Barbra Paskin Celebrates Woody Allen's 90th Birthday."},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOLLYWOOD, California---I\u2019ve just been reading What\u2019s with Baum?, <\/em>the newly-released novel by Woody Allen. He\u2019s written over a dozen books but this is his first novel. It\u2019s said the best things in life are worth waiting for and this book is one of those things. It tells the story of Asher Baum, a neurotic, middle-aged Jewish writer in an unhappy third marriage who hates his stepson and is facing an accusation of harassment against a female reporter. He\u2019s a classic Allen protagonist\u2014an anxious, intellectual man crippled by his own neuroses. Once a successful journalist he\u2019s now an unsuccessful novelist whom everyone, himself included, deems a failure. Baum won\u2019t give up on his dream though. He\u2019s determined to write that winning novel, no matter what people think of him. There\u2019s a twist to this tale as Baum uncovers a startling secret that could cause havoc should he expose it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Jewish Chronicle wrote in their recent review \u2018Woody Allen\u2019s first novel is worth the wait. It\u2019s a delightful read and at its best it\u2019s one of the best evocations of New York you could wish for, a reminder of Allen\u2019s past glories as a filmmaker.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(c) NME.Com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel, which contains a great deal of humour despite its serious theme, leads to inevitable comparisons between Baum and Woody himself, although Woody has downplayed similarities in the past (\u201cpeople do tend to identify me with my characters but the connections are sporadic and exaggerated\u201d). Still, both resort to humour, both are self-deprecating and both are in pursuit of that elusive successful novel. Most of all, both are Jewish and this book is testament to their faith. What\u2019s with Baum?<\/em> is filled with Yiddish expressions and encounters in  Woody\u2019s favourite Jewish delis for which New York is famed. There are mentions of various Jewish magazines and authors like Saul Bellow and Philip Roth. Above all, we learn that Asher Baum\u2019s grandfather was a German-Jewish refugee and, as in several of Woody\u2019s films, there are inescapable references to the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woody Allen's own views on being Jewish are complicated. Whilst his work reflects a deep involvement with Jewish culture and identity, personally he describes himself as an atheist, detached from Judaism and the Jewish community. As he has previously explained, \u201cI was unmoved by the synagogue. I was not interested in the Seder, I was not interested in the Hebrew school, I was not interested in being Jewish. It just didn\u2019t mean a thing to me. I was not ashamed of it nor was I proud of it. It was a nonfactor to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, though estranged from personal Jewish life, he keeps returning to Judaism as a topic for his humor. His Jewishness, so evident even in his early stand-up comedy days, has long been captured in his movies. In his 2014 biography of Woody, David Evanier wrote: \u2018As I write Allen\u2019s biog\u001fra\u001fphy, I con\u001ftin\u001fue to be aston\u001fished at how bold\u001fly Jew\u001fish he has been in his films from the start, even con\u001fstant\u001fly invok\u001fing his feel\u001fings about the Holo\u001fcaust. He has always put his Jewishness at the forefront of his work.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woody rarely talks about religion but in a 2012 interview with Israel\u2019s daily tabloid newspaper, Yedioth Ahrono<\/em>th, he talked in some depth about his Judaism: \u201cI grew up in a Jewish atmosphere and they made me a bar mitzvah, so clearly it\u2019s an element that will remain in my life permanently\u2026 But I don\u2019t believe in organized religions. Most of them exploit people, and I think these clubs have nothing to do with God. Today I feel Jewish mainly when people attack me because of my being Jewish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI support Israel and I\u2019ve supported it since the day it was founded. Israel\u2019s neighbors have treated it badly, cruelly, instead of embracing it and making it part of the Middle East family of nations. Over the years Israel has responded to these attacks in various ways, some of which I approved of and some less so. I also have questions about the leadership, which doesn\u2019t always act in Israel\u2019s best interests. But even my criticism of Israel comes from a place of love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, a campaign backed by Shimon Peres was launched to encourage Woody to come to Israel for the first time and make a film there; the mayor of Jerusalem even met with him in New York to try and persuade him. Ultimately, their approach was unsuccessful, though Woody defended the fact that he\u2019d never been to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI\u2019m not a tourist. I travel regularly to three cities that I know and love \u2014 Paris, London and Rome \u2014 and that\u2019s it. I don\u2019t like to leave home because I\u2019m a bit neurotic, and when I do leave home, it\u2019s mostly for work. I don\u2019t like flying and I don\u2019t consider myself a curious person who wants to see new places. My wife is of Korean origin and she\u2019s been trying for years to convince me to go to South Korea with her \u2014 so far, unsuccessfully. She\u2019s also very curious about Israel and wants to go there with the girls, so they can see and understand their father\u2019s Jewish culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel may have failed in its attempt to lure Woody to make a film there, but Spain has been more successful. Not satisfied with having made 50 films, Woody is now preparing for another, WASP (Woody Allen Sumer Project), <\/em>which he\u2019ll film in and around Madrid. The Madrid regional government is providing \u20ac1.5 million in funding for the project, with the condition that the word \u2018Madrid\u2019 must be included in the final title. They\u2019re hopeful the film could do for Madrid what Roman Holiday<\/em> did for Rome tourism in the early \u201850s, and what Emily in Paris<\/em> and Woody\u2019s own enchanting Midnight in Paris <\/em>have done more recently to increase tourism in the French capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, he still performs with his e HHNew Orleans Jazz Band in which he has played clarinet for almost half a century. For decades they performed every Monday night at New York\u2019s Carlyle Hotel and I recall attending the 1978 Academy Awards where he won Oscars for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall. <\/em>He lost as Best Actor but the film also won Best Picture and Best Actress for Diane Keaton. I remember how dismayed the audience was by his failure to attend the ceremony, citing his unbreakable weekly commitment to his band, but he has never approved of awards in any form (\u2018I cannot abide by the judgment of other people, because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you don't\u2019). Despite a record-breaking number of nominations (53) and wins (12), he has only attended the Oscars once, in 2002 to make a plea to the industry to return to making films in New York, site of the previous year\u2019s deadly September 11 attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his age, Woody Allen is indefatiguable. Not only is he prepping a new film and still performing with his band, he has already begun writing a second novel. Like the Duracell battery he keeps going and going and is an inspiration to creative souls everywhere.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years our paths have crossed a few times. When I interviewed Linda Ronstadt in California for a Radio 2 series about her career, Woody narrated the programmes from a recording studio near his home in New York. And when Dudley Moore was about to turn 64, as his authorised biographer I asked Woody (among 299 others) if he\u2019d write a birthday message for Dudley who at the time was suffering from an unknown illness. The letter he sent me for him brought smiles to Dudley\u2019s face and some rare laughter. It read like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDear Dudley, Heard that you were under the weather and so figured you\u2019d be able to appreciate all the physical problems I\u2019ve had. Beginning with sinus pains I\u2019ve had a torn rotator cuff, intestinal reflux, a touch of glaucoma and mild skin cancer. Add to this several bouts of flu and stomach virus, not to mention a slight hearing loss in my left ear and you see what I\u2019ve been up against. Sorry to burden you with all this but I feel you\u2019d understand. Get well, stay healthy and Happy Birthday. Woody Allen<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, Woody celebrates his 90th<\/sup> birthday and I thought this would be a fitting occasion to look back at some of his more memorable quotes from the past:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.\u201d <\/em>

\u00a0\u201cThe difference between sex and love is that sex relieves tension and love causes it.<\/em>

\u00a0\u201cI don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment. <\/em>

\u00a0\u201cEighty percent of success is showing up. <\/em>

\u201cYou can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred. <\/em>

\u201cIf you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative. <\/em>

\u201cI believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government. <\/em>

\u201cConfidence is what you have before you understand the problem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, let\u2019s take a look at Woody\u2019s expressed desire for his reincarnation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people's home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then voila<\/em>! You finish off as an orgasm!\u201d<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that philosophical note, I wish you all Shavua tov!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOLLYWOOD, California---I\u2019ve just been reading What\u2019s with Baum?, the newly-released novel by Woody Allen. He\u2019s written over a dozen books but this is his first novel. It\u2019s said the best things in life are worth waiting for and this book is one of those things. It tells the story of Asher Baum, a neurotic, middle-aged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letters-from-hollywood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5340"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5478,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5340\/revisions\/5478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}