Woody Allen

Being the documentary and biography feen that I am, I couldn’t resist watching the two part Woody Allen documentary, Woody Allen, A Documentary, that’s currently on Netflix. While I’ve considered myself a Woody Allen fan for years, it turns out I know absolutely zero about him. For example, did you know he used to have awful stage fright? That he used to write jokes for a newspaper while he was in high school? That Woody Allen isn’t even his actual name? I mean, I suppose I should have known that his life had to be kind of interesting considering he has a two part documentary over him, but wow, this guy is incredible. 

Something I found especially interesting was the fact that he’s starred in a good number of his films. I guess considering I’ve only seen two of his films, both in which he didn’t star in, I had no idea that that was uncommon for a Woody Allen film. Being a writer myself, I found it incredibly inspiring that Woody Allen does it all, he writes, directs, and he acts. That would seriously be my dream job. I mean, I have yet to have a movie idea that doesn’t involve me being the main character, and until seeing this, I’ve always seen that as a bad thing. Constantly wondering how awful it would be to see someone else play out the part you had written with yourself in mind. I guess I just found the fact that he does it all so interesting because it allows me to relate to a creative genius. This guy has the same aspirations as I do. That’s so weird. 

Another thing that I found absolutely fascinating in his documentary was that he keeps a box of ideas written on anything from hotel paper to a piece of scratch paper. I love the fact that they aren’t even complete ideas, just things that he thinks might make a good movie. You cannot possibly fathom how much that inspires me. Since watching this documentary I’ve started forcing myself to turn on the lamp next to my bed in the middle of the night and write down whatever thought, line, or scene that could maybe one day be something fantastic. I mean, who knows?

Like all other vintage loving hipsters like myself, I nearly fell on the floor when I found out that he’s writes all of his scripts on a typewriter. How cool is that? Imagine, right now, Woody Allen could be at his house writing about some idea in his magical box of ideas, on his old typewriter. That just makes me so excited to be alive, I don’t really know how to explain it. I feel just so, oh I don’t know, happy? I’m so happy that this kind of person exists. 

After watching his documentary I have this uncontrollable urge to write and create. The writers block that has cursed me for almost a year and a half seems to be subsiding and I’m ready to get back into the ring. Woody Allen was once a nervous, weird teenager, like myself, and look where he is now. I can only find that encouraging. 

-Shelby Eckerty