Woody Allen Has 'No Intention of Retiring,' Denies Claims He Plans to Stop Making Movies

Woody Allen has no plans to retire just yet.

Just one day after Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia published an interview with the Oscar winner in which he announced plans to focus on "writing" instead of making movies, the 86-year-old has released a statement denying reports that he is moving on from the movie business.

"Woody Allen never said he was retiring, nor did he say he was writing another novel," the statement released Monday read. "He said he was thinking about not making films, as making films that go straight or very quickly to streaming platforms is not so enjoyable for him, as he is a great lover of the cinema experience. Currently, he has no intention of retiring and is very excited to be in Paris shooting his new movie, which will be the 50th."

His upcoming film Wasp 22, which he described to the outlet as "exciting, dramatic and also very sinister" like 2005's Match Point, was filmed in Europe.

In his interview with La Vanguardia, Allen said: "My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing."

The filmmaker spoke with Alec Baldwin during an Instagram Live in June about stepping back from filmmaking, when he revealed that he had "one or two more" films in him, but ultimately he felt the "thrill is gone."

"A lot of the thrill is gone," Allen told Baldwin of making movies. "Now you do a movie, and you get a couple of weeks in a movie house, and then it goes to streaming or pay-per-view. It's not the same. It's not as enjoyable to me."

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The discussion with Baldwin came after the actor revealed he had "zero interest in anyone's judgments and sanctimonious posts" about Allen, whose adopted daughter Dylan Farrow opened up about her 1992 molestation allegation against Allen in a 2014 New York Times op-ed. The allegation was also discussed in the docuseries Allen v. Farrow, which details Allen's affair with one of ex-wife Mia Farrow's adopted daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, whom he ended up marrying. Allen has steadfastly denied the molestation allegation.

During that same discussion with Baldwin, Allen shared that he would have wanted to make a film with late comedian Jerry Lewis, who was accused by several of his female former costars after his 2017 death of sexual assault and harassment.

"I would've liked to have directed Jerry Lewis, because Jerry Lewis was an immense talent who always squandered it on silliness, and I think if you could control him and focus him in the right comedy, he could deliver for you in a really, really spectacular way," Allen, who has directed films Manhattan and Annie Hall, said.