Woody Allen's next film already has a starting date for filming in the Community of Madrid. The project of the New York director, which will bear the name of the capital in the title and has public funding from both the Community and the City Council, will begin the recording process on October 5, as reported by EL MUNDO and confirmed by sources from the production company.
Although Allen's original plans were to start filming the movie during this spring, it will finally be after the summer, in the fall months when it will begin. Allen's film, which adds up to more than 50 titles in his filmography, will be entirely shot in the Spanish capital. In fact, the public institutions of Madrid are essential in the financing of this project. The Community of Madrid had already signed a contract last October for the sponsorship of the film's promotion with Película WASP AIE - an economic interest grouping formed by Wanda Vision S.A. and Gravier Production INC, who are also co-producers of the feature film.
That contract for the production of Woody Allen's project had a value of 1.5 million and extended over 26 months. A similar amount, another 1.5 million, will be contributed by the City Council, making the regional and municipal funding account for almost 15% of the budget. Initial reports suggest that Allen's film will have a budget close to 10 million euros.
Both the script and direction of the film will be in charge of the veteran director, who is already 90 years old and who has not presented a project since 2023 when A Rainy Day in New York, a romantic thriller that year participated in the Venice Film Festival. That project was mainly developed in France, a trend that has been constant in the director's recent years due to difficulties, especially following the MeToo movement, to carry out his work in the United States.
In fact, the last film shot with American money was A Rainy Day in New York, which was released in 2019. However, during the post-production process of that film, up to three of the main faces of the project announced that they would donate their salary to organizations helping victims of abuse and sexual assault: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Hall, and Selena Gomez. The latter, as reported by People magazine at the time, even donated more than what she had earned while filming with Woody Allen.
However, Woody Allen's relationship with Spain has been a constant in previous years. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, from 2008, was mostly filmed between Barcelona and Oviedo - where the director actually has a bronze statue in the city center - and two of its main actors were Spanish: Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Rifkin's Festival, from 2020, was also filmed in San Sebastián against the backdrop of the city's film festival. The film actually opened that year's edition and featured Elena Anaya, Sergi López, and Enrique Arce in its cast.
Madrid will be the fourth Spanish city to host a Woody Allen production, which will film for half a year in the capital. According to figures published by this newspaper, this would create around1,200 direct jobs and over 2,000 indirect jobs. The same estimates suggested that just in the accommodation of those involved in the production, the economic return for the region would be over half a million euros.