Thursday, Woody Allen filed a lawsuit against Amazon Studios, seeking $68 million in damages, accusing the studio of breaching contract when they dropped a four-movie deal that they had previously struck with the filmmaker and declined to distribute his A Rainy Day In New York film, citing sexaul assault allegations against Allen as grounds for terminating the contract.
The suit alleges that Amazon decided to end things by “referencing a 25-year old, baseless allegation against Mr. Allen.” The case in question is more than likely the accustations that Allen faced for allegedly molesting his adopted adughter Dylan Farrow in 1992. The case most recently resurfaced in 2017 in light of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood.
“That allegation was already well known to Amazon (and the public) before Amazon entered into four separate deals with Mr. Allen,” the lawsuit states. “And, in any event, it does not provide a basis for Amazon to terminate the contract. There simply was no legitimate ground for Amazon to renege on its promises.”
Allen met with executives in December 2017 when the allegations once again plagued him. Amazon Studios previously faced scrutiny over its association with the likes of Harvey Wenstein and Roy Price and proposed delaying the release of Woody Allen's A Rainy Day In New York until 2019. But before the year arrived, Amazon announced its intent to sever its relationship with Allen in June 2018 by stating that, "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," are grounds for termination.
