Woody Allen was born on December 1, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York.
He broke into show business aged 15 when he started writing jokes for a local paper. He later moved on to write jokes for talk shows, but felt that his jokes were being wasted. His agents, Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins convinced him to start doing stand-ups and telling his own jokes. Later on, he reluctantly agreed and, although he initially performed with such fear of the audience that he would cover his ears when they applauded his jokes, he eventually became very successful doing this.
Woody’s theoretical directorial debut was in "What’s Up, Tiger Lily ?" which was a Japanese spy flick that he dubbed over with his own comedic dialogue about spies searching for the secret recipe for egg salad.
While best known for his romantic comedies ("Annie Hall" , "Manhattan") Woody has made many transitions in his films throughout the years, to his more storied and romantic comedies ( "Hannah and Her Sisters")
to the Bergman-esque films of "Stardust Memories" and "Interiors ;" and then on to the more recent, but varied works( "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Husbands and Wives," "Mighty Aphrodite," "Celebrity" and "Deconstructing Harry") and finally to his films of the last decade, which vary from the light comedy ( "Scoop" )to the self-destructive darkness of "Match Point" .More recently, to the cinematically beautiful tale of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and the latest « Minuit à Paris ».
Although his stories and style have changed over the years, his views on art and his mastery of filmmaking leaves him as one of the best filmmakers of our time.
Finally, Woody said : « I do not want to reach immortality thanks to my work. I want to reach immortality by not dying. »
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