Where do you start?

Where do you stop?

And how do you tackle Woodys eclectic, prolific career in just under two hours?

Im not sure where to start…

Well, lets not!

[laughs]

Ad content continues below

Lets start at the beginning, then.

You made your first documentary, about the Marx Brothers, when you were 22…

I was 18 when I conceived it.

It took four years to make, so I was 22 when it was finished.

Well, its the only way to get it done.

Hes always been resistant to this.

Other documentary filmmakers had approached him as well.

So I had to convince him not to worry about that, and finally he caved in.

Did the fact that this was an entry in theAmerican Mastersseries of documentaries help?

I think that did, because its a very respected series.

How do you figure Im one of those?

So when you start up a documentary like this, where do you start?

Be it Woody or the Marx Brothers or Kurt Vonnegut or Lenny Bruce, or whatever.

So my feeling is, just collect as much material as possible.

I must have, I dont know, twelve hours of filmed interviews with him, at least!

And some things occur to you.

That was an obvious connection.

Its writing via editing.

How much of that structure is informed by the access?

And you also have on-set footage fromYou Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.

I knew certainly, even before I started, that I wanted to film him on a set.

I dont think youre going to wind up with anything useful.

Who cares about that?

So, Im asking people about whyAnnie Hallwas different.

The fact that it was a film set, where they were both on set at the same time.

I thought that was fascinating.

That is a particularly fascinating point.

Is that the case?

Woody didnt even know where that was.

There was just no place for it.

You want to move on.

That was really what informed a lot of those decisions.

Now, I will say this.

In the longer version, the later films get a little more time.

That said, to me, Im personally interested in origins.

How did Woody Allen get to be a filmmaker?

The mans made 43 films.

So you cant say, Heres a clip fromAnother Woman.

Heres a clip fromCurse Of The Jade Scorpion.

I mean, at a certain point, you just have to hit the highlights.

You cant stop for every film.

And theres always going to be some point saying, How can you not coverWhats Up, Tiger Lily?

And I go, Really?Whats Up, Tiger Lily?

A film that he just got some friends and dubbed?

It was not a significant point in his career.

Some people love that film, so they want to see it.

Or, How can you not have the Marshall McLuhan scene fromAnnie Hall?

Because its not a 12 hour movie!

Thats the only answer.

And she said theyre really quite shocked.

They have no idea.

And I havent loved all of his films, Im hardly a sycophant.

There are some I didnt even want to have to watch again, preparing for the film!

I would say one of my least favourite films isAnything Else.It just bores me silly.

My intent was not to let the film gush too much.

I have to be interested in the subject.

Not because it would embarrass him, which it would, but because it would embarrass me.

I didnt want to have my name on a film that just paints this guy as the second coming.

You need somebody covering that.

And, you know, Woody certainly isnt going to speak analytically and critically about his films.

The great thing about Leonard Maltin is, Leonard Maltin could fill in little narrative holes that I needed.

Now, without narration, you have these holes.

And I could go to Leonard and say, Take us fromDont Drink The WatertoPlay It Again, Sam.

And I would even give him a little thing that I needed, like, mention Tony Roberts.

And he would do it.

It was more, actually.

So thats a lot of major cutting.

And, of course there are many reasons to do that.

People dont want to be sitting in a cinema certainly not a wide audience for over three hours.

Yeah, Im not Judd Apatow!

No one should have to sit through three hours of anything in a cinema.

But what was that process like?

You already have a structure in place, was that where you start worrying that youre cutting too much?

Its a very good question.

Its not like it was in the hands of somebody who butchered it.

All the choices were mine.

When I first went into the editing room, I thought Id come out with a two hour film.

So I did that.

It was two afternoons.

Not even two full afternoons.

And we got it down.

They had no idea.

So that, to me, was a great compliment.

What do you think are the best qualities for a documentary filmmaker?

Now, my subjects, as I say, theyre subjects Im interested in.

The luxury for me is that I make these documentaries in the comfort of an editing room.

This is a very luxurious way to make documentaries.

Otherwise, these things are just too hard to make.

Even what I do, which is a comfortable way to make a documentary.

Its too time-consuming to not have the passion to do it.

Is that the same when it comes to conducting good interviews?

I dont know, you tell me!

[laughs]

Mr Weide, thank you very much for your time!

Woody Allen: A Documentaryis out now.you could read our review here.