5 Things You Did Not Know About Woody Allen
“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” — Woody Allen
Growing up in NYC I never really got into Woody Allen and his movies. I knew some people liked them but it was not for me.
I remember him always being written about in the paper for his movies or his eclectic choices.
It seemed like he put out a movie every year in the 70’s and 80’s when I grew up.
Some of the articles in the local newspaper like the New York Daily News or the New York Post ripped him apart. I remember thinking back then how I felt bad for this guy and what it must have felt like to read all of these horrible things being said about you and/or your movies.
I recently reads in Business Insider that Woody Allen never attends awards shows. The article went on to say that he does not believe in them. Wow what a thought. Here is a ultra-successful movie maker who gets nominated for an award every time one of his movies comes out if seems like and he doesn’t believe in the awards.
What a refreshing way of thinking. He makes movies does not want the accolades that come along with it. This is very very unusual.
Woody enjoys what he does so much that he just keeps on doing it and does not care what others think or whether he is recognized by his peers.
This is a great example of enjoying the process and not letting others feelings or thinking get in your way.
Here are 5 other things you did not know about him.
1. Woody Allen never re-watches his own movies — He never re-watches them once they are released. “So I’ve never been satisfied or even pleased with a film that I’ve done. I make them, I’m finished, I’ve never looked at one after. I made my first film in 1968, and I’ve never seen it since. I just cringe when I see them.” Talk about letting your work stand on its own. We should take a lesson and never try to be a perfectionist.
2. He never pays attention to what others say about him — Unlike most people who are interested in what other shave to say Woody never gets into that. “I never, ever, ever read anything about myself. Not my interviews, not stories about me. I never, ever read any criticism of my films. I scrupulously have avoided any self-preoccupation. When I first started, that was not the case. [But now I] just pay attention to the work and don’t read about how great I am or what a fool I am.” What an extraordinary quality this is. Focus on the work and do not get caught up in he said/she said.
3. He was never a big reader — He admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that he was never a big fan of books. This was one of the more surprising things I learned about him. I disagree on this one but you should take lesson that you don’t always have to do what the experts tell you to in order to succeed.
4. He aspired to be a magician when he was a child — Those who tell you to look back into your childhood and see what interested you to work on were wrong about this one. Well at least as far as Woody Allen goes. Once again there is no one certain path to anything in life.
5. He started out as a joke writer — At age 15 he began writing jokes for local newspaper columnists. Your career is going to take twists and turns and you may morph into something you don’t realize yet. Roll with what life gives you and you will figure it out.
We should all learn lessons from this gentleman. He is enjoying the process, keeps doing what he likes, puts out a finished project with no looking back and does not get involved in what the people say about him.
There are probably many people out there who do not like him but this did not stop him from being successful. I was not a fan of his movies but learning these things about him may make me watch a few to see what all the others see.
