"I had a wonderful time making this picture. This does not mean that you'll enjoy it."
BUENOS AIRES – Rio de Janeiro’s hunt for a Woody Allen film project added another chapter Sunday when the city’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, stated to O Globo newspaper that his administration would pay anything, including 100 percent of production costs, if the filmmaker should decide to shoot a film in the city.
“I really want him to come! I did everything. I’ve talked to his sister, I’ve sent him a plane ticket through [architect Santiago] Calatrava, his neighbor in New York, and I would pay anything for him to come shoot here,” said Paes to O Globo.
Rio’s mayor also said he expected local artists and producers to attack him if he should pay “the millions Woody asks.” “But,” he said, “I would pay for 100 percent of the production.”
Rio de Janeiro, and its film investment arm RioFilme, have been looking to attract an Allen project for years now, ever since the filmmaker began his series of Europe-set films like Vicky Cristina Barcelona and To Rome With Love.
In 2010, RioFilme announced negotiations with Allen’s producers and agent had been successful and a film would be shot there in 2011, but this was later denied by Allen’s publicist in London, and the project was never carried out.
